Lee withdraws after dramatic meltdown

New Zealand golfer Danny Lee withdrew from the US Open after a stunning capitulation to end his third round.

The 30-year-old endured a massive meltdown on the 18th hole at Winged Foot yesterday, sixputting from an initial distance of four feet to record a quintuple bogey nine. It saw Lee finish with an eight-over 78, following rounds of 70 then 75.

A wrist injury has been given as the reason for him pulling out of the tournament.

Going into his final hole, Lee was tied for 35th, 12 shots off the pace, when the leaders were about to tee off.

A two-shot setup on the par four, which he had parred in his opening round then bogeyed in his second, had him in line for birdie. That would have seen him finish with a 72 and be in a tie for 31st with one more round of the notoriously tough course to play.

But then came his catastrophic putting. After missing his initial shot from four feet (1.2 metres), Lee then missed from similar distances four more times before eventually holing, ironically, his longest attempt from 2.05m.

It completes a woeful time of it for the Kiwi contingent at the event, with New Zealand’s other hope, Ryan Fox, having carded an awful

15-over 85 in his second round. That took Fox to 19-over for the tournament, ahead of just three other players in the field.

There was marginally better news for Lydia Ko at the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic.

In a tournament which had been reduced to 54 holes due to hazardous air quality from wildfires, Ko followed up her opening-round

73, which had her tied for 70th, to shoot a three-under 69 to be in a tie for 43rd.

She sits 10 shots back from leader Mel Reid, with the Englishwoman holding a two-stroke lead over Australia’s Hannah Green.