KEY POINTS:
An "exceptional performance" in his first PGA Tour appearance has given New Zealand golfer Danny Lee the perfect warm-up for a strong tilt at the US Amateur championship which begins tomorrow (NZ time) at Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Lee, 18, returned cards of 68 66 67 67 in the
Wyndham Championship, which saw him finish joint 20th on a 12-under total of 268, nine shots off winner Carl Petterson of Sweden.
NZ Golf high performance manager David Graham - who watched Lee take on the Sedgefield Country Club Course in Greensboro, North Carolina over the weekend - told NZPA this morning the Rotorua player had wowed hardened professionals and the gallery alike.
"His playing partner, Patrick Sheehan, told me Lee played like someone who has been on the tour forever, like he was aged 30 instead of 18," Graham said.
Sheehan, with two career PGA Tour wins, also finished joint 20th.
"He played exceptionally well for such a young guy at the upper level of the game," Graham said.
"His driving and iron play was great and his short game was responsible for creating his scores."
Lee had attracted a fair amount of interest and there were a couple of management groups keeping a close eye on the world No 1 amateur. "They really think his game has what it takes," Graham said.
"His performance has set him up brilliantly for the US Amateur.
"He will be the only player who will turn up at the championship having undergone such a competitive environment recently."
Lee will also have had a feel of what to expect from Pinehurst as the Sedgefield GC course was also designed by Donald Ross.
At one point, Lee, who started the day 19th, moved into the top 10 with six birdies and two bogeys by the 13th hole. A bogey on the 14th dropped him down the leaderboard but he held his game together to finish with four straight pars.
"He made a couple of mistakes today as he was trying to play aggressively.
"At the moment, he shoots at too many flags but as he improves, strategically he will make some better decisions (and realise) he doesn't have to shoot at every flag every time."
Graham said Lee had told him he was feeling confident with his game.
Last year, Lee was eliminated in the first round of matchplay at the US Amateur. He qualified fifth from 36 holes of strokeplay at The Olympic Club near San Francisco.
Graham was confident Lee's form will hold into this year's tournament following a string of fine performances.
After winning both the medal and championship honours at the prestigious Western Amateur, Lee fired an 11-under par 133 at the Piper Glen GC in Illinois to top qualifiers for the US Amateur.
He was then invited to compete in the Wyndham Championship.
"I am confident his game has what it takes. He stood up to immense pressure today and shot a good number.
"Without being arrogant, he feels he belongs here and feeling good enough to be here is important.
"He has worked really hard over the last eight or nine months and it's paying off with his game coming together."
Graham rated Lee's performance this weekend as superior to his third place finish in the Asian Tour's Maekyung Open in Seoul, Korea in May last year as a 16-year-old.
"In recent memory, this is the best performance by a New Zealand amateur," he said.
Waikato's James Gill is the first alternate to play at the US Amateur after finishing fourth in his qualifier at the Black Hall Club in Connecticut.
- NZPA
