Danny Lee to keep watch on Springfield Open

SUPPORT: Rotorua's Danny Lee, seen with fellow Olympian golfer Lydia Ko, will be keeping a close eye on the 2017 Danny Lee Springfield Open results from his home base in Dallas, Texas. PHOTO/FILE

New Zealand's highest-ranked golfer, Danny Lee, will once again have an eye on Rotorua in early January.

The 26-year-old PGA Tour professional will be watching from afar as top amateurs fight it out for the 2017 Danny Lee Springfield Open title in Rotorua on January 7 and 8.

Lee's legacy of support, which started when he turned professional in 2009, has allowed hundreds of young golfers to take part in the annual 54-hole event.

"I played in many junior events throughout the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand while I was growing up at Springfield Golf Club," Lee said from his now home base in Dallas, Texas.

Lee won the Springfield event twice as an amateur as he rose to become the No 1 ranked amateur player in the world.

"Having those tournaments helped me learn about playing competitive golf. Events like the Springfield Open helped me achieve my dream of playing all over the world."

For many amateurs, the Danny Lee Open has been their first open-type event and Springfield always provides a strong test and indicator of where players' stand in their development.

"There is no substitute for the experience that a player gets in events like these. The lessons you learn in tournaments like the Springfield Open are things you can carry the rest of your career," Lee said.

Lee is ranked 67th in the world and will be back in action on the world's top golf tours in 2017.

"I'm really looking forward to teeing off again in the new year. Last year was great and I was able to represent New Zealand at both the Olympics and the World Cup of Golf."

Lee has two wins as a professional: the 2015 Greenbrier Classic (PGA Tour) and WNB Golf Classic in 2011 (Web.Com) and won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic (European Tour) while still an amateur attending Rotorua Boys' High School.

He was a member of the International Presidents Cup team in 2015 and made 28 cuts on the PGA Tour during their 2016 season, earning $1,405,722 with two Top 10 finishes.

After four completed events in the 2017 season he has accumulated just over $60,000 in earnings, surviving three cuts with a best finish of 11th at the World Cup in tandem with fellow Kiwi Ryan Fox.

Danny Lee background
• Danny Lee is based on the US PGA Tour and is New Zealand's No 1 ranked male professional golfer having played Presidents Cup in 2015 and the Olympics in 2016.
• Lee played his amateur golf at Springfield while attending Rotorua Boys' High School.
• Lee represented Bay of Plenty and New Zealand as an amateur.
• It was during this time he became the then youngest winner of the US Amateur Championship and became the No 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world.
• Lee, a past multiple winner of the Springfield Open event while an amateur based in Rotorua, has supported the event since he turned professional in 2009.
• His contribution allows a subsidised entry for players under 23 and also contributes to putting on a highly competitive event with a prize table in excess of $10,000.
• Entries for the 96 places in the Springfield Open field close on January 1 and the last three tournaments have been oversubscribed with waiting lists of players if anyone pulls out.
• The event is 54 holes strokeplay with 36 holes on the Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday morning.