Lee rises as Ko struggles
New Zealand’s golfers have struggled to find any consistency in the United States.
While Danny Lee carded a two-under 70 in the third round of the Valero Texas Open, Lydia Ko had a one-over 72 in the third round of the Hugel-JTBC LA Open.
Both rounds were a mixture of the good and bad, but it was Lee who was able to limit his bad holes as he moved up the leaderboard.
After going four over in his first round, then going four under on the second day in Texas, Lee continued his rise up the ranks with a tidy third at TPC San Antonio.
Lee hit five birdies through his round, to go with a bogey and a double-bogey, to go two-under for the tournament.
Three of the four par-threes proved plentiful for Lee, taking three birdies. His first, on the third hole, saw him drain an
18-foot putt. His final birdie of the round, on the par-three 16th, saw him knock down another birdie from 15-feet.
Lee’s only real blemish was a doublebogey on the 11th hole, as he found the rough and then duffed two chips.
Trey Mullinax shot a stunning
10-under 62 to move into the joint lead with Zach Johnson and Andrew Landry at 12-under.
Meanwhile, Ko sits in a tie for 38th in Texas after a round in which she mixed five bogeys with four birdies.
Ko was three under through the first seven holes, before pegging one shot back on the ninth. While she was one-under over the second nine, her start cost her. She sits in a tie for 51st at four-over for the tournament.