Danny has the last laugh at Augusta

– Korean-born Kiwi Danny Lee (left) was laughed at by his playing competitors the last time he played the Masters in 2009.

Nobody was laughing, however, at his performance at Augusta National on Thursday as he sprinkled six birdies with two bogeys to end the first round of the Masters in a share of second place after a four-under 68.

“I’m having a blast out there,” said Lee, who headed the Asianborn contingent, two strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth.

On a day when world No 14 Hideki Matsuyama of Japan shot 71, Lee made a positive return to Augusta seven years after his only previous appearance.

Back then, he six-putted the 10th hole during the second round, much to the bemusement

Augusta

of Australia’s Adam Scott and South Africa’s Trevor Immelman, with whom he was playing.

“I was very disappointed but Adam and Trevor were just laughing at me,” recalled Lee.

Lee was a teenage prodigy who won the 2008 US Amateur Championship at the age of 18, supplanting Tiger Woods as the youngest ever champion at the time.

But his professional career stalled until he got back on track and finally won last year on the PGA Tour.

While Lee admitted he “had a lot of good breaks”, India’s Anirban Lahiri was not so lucky. He was on track for a good score until a triple-bogey at the par-three 16th, where his tee shot found the water guarding the green, and then compounded his misery by three-putting. – Reuters