Nerves get better of Lee within sight of victory
A PHILOSOPHICAL Danny Lee says he was nervous and rushed himself on the back nine in the final round of the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Classic but is already looking ahead to the next tournament.
Lee’s bid to become the first Kiwi golfer to win on the PGA Tour in almost a decade fell short after he faded badly on the back nine in Mexico yesterday, though an extra $445,030 in his bank account and vital FedEx Cup points helped soften the blow.
An incredible front nine birdie blitz saw the 24-year-old go from four shots back at the start of the final round, and a tie for fifth, to the outright lead.
He held the upper hand till a bogey at the 15th hole – his second dropped shot in four holes – saw him relinquish his grip on the tournament and he never regained it.
He had to settle for a four-under 67, a 15-under total, and a share of third, two shots behind the winner, American Charley Hoffman.
Lee said he wasn’t really sure what happened after he took 38 strokes on the back nine, nine more than his remarkable front nine effort of 29 that included seven birdies.
‘‘The back nine on this golf course is very tough and you kind of have to hit perfect golf shots to make birdies on the back nine, and I didn’t,’’ Lee said.
‘‘I think I was a little bit nervous and I was rushing myself. I should have taken a little bit more time.
‘‘But there’s always next week, and next year and I’m looking forward to playing all the events in 2015.’’
Lee was left to rue a golden opportunity gone begging for his first PGA Tour win and a winner’s cheque of US$1.1 million after he carded three bogeys and no birdies on the back nine.
The upside for the Kiwi, when he gets over yesterday’s events, is that he leaps 53 places to 18th in the FedEx Cup standings and has set himself up for the rest of the season – and pocketed US$353,800 (NZ$445,030) for the week.
After pars at the first two holes, Lee caught fire with a remarkable seven successive birdies. His approach play was stellar and his putter white-hot as he landed series of mid-range putts.
Then it was if he took his first peek at the leaderboard and realised what was going on.
He lost his tee shots left into rough and his second shots right into rough at both the 12th and 13th holes.
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news when he missed the green at the par-three 15th and failed to get up and down, dropping out of the lead. To rub salt into the wound, Lee missed a four-footer for par on 18.
Hoffman virtually clinched the win when he stuffed his second shot at the 450m par-four 16th to two feet for an easy birdie and a two-shot second.
Fellow Kiwi Tim Wilkinson finished tied for 28th at eight-under par.
Michael Campbell was the last New Zealander to win on the PGA Tour when he claimed his only major, the US Open, at Pinehurst in 2005.
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