"It's amazing, just amazing. I've been so close so many times this year and to win one, wow.
"This is what winning feels like."
Heading in to this week's tournament, Lee had recorded three top-10 finishes this season but was yet to put together four consistent rounds to threaten victory.
Manawatu's Tim Wilkinson and Hamilton's Steven Alker also played this week but missed the cut.
Lee's final round - a three-under 67 - kept him in the hunt today and the victory will bring multiple exemptions to future tournaments, including this year's remaining majors The Open Championship and the PGA Championship, while his PGA Tour card is secure for the next two seasons.
He also banked $1,802,204 for this week's win, while he was projected to jump to 15th on the FedEx Cup standings. The last Kiwi to win on the PGA Tour was Michael Campbell who claimed the US Open crown in 2005.
Lee's previous best finish on the PGA Tour was sole second at the Puerto Rico Open last year. He played on the second-tier Web.com Tour in 2013 and finished 15th on the money list, which allowed him to punch his card for the big show.
Prior to that he had a strong amateur career and became the youngest winner of the US Amateur Championship in 2008. In February, 2009 he won the European Tour's Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth as an amateur.
He turned professional after The Masters in 2009 and mixed his time on the European, PGA and Web.com Tours but his place on the game's most lucrative circuit is secure for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Auckland's Ryan Fox, who recently qualified for next week's Open Championship in Scotland, finished in a share of 47th at the Aegean Airlines Challenge Tour event on the second-tier Challenge Tour in Europe. Fox, who finished at one-over, was 16 strokes back from winner Ricardo Gouveia (15-under). Fox has made three cuts from as many events in Europe.
On the Japan Tour, North Shore professional Michael Hendry missed the cut at the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational.
