Golf: Lee still has a taste for home

Danny Lee earned $1 million last season. Photo / AP

Danny Lee hasn't been back to New Zealand in six years but the PGA Tour professional knows exactly what he will do when he returns.

"It's probably the first thing I will get when I get back to New Zealand - a mince pie," he said. "I'm probably going to eat 20 of them right away."

Hyperbole aside, a delicacy like the humble mince pie isn't often found near his adopted digs in Dallas.

"I hear there's one bakery who have them in Georgia somewhere but, from where I live, that's pretty far away, so it's very unfortunate. But I couldn't imagine it's going to be better than a mince pie back in New Zealand."

Given the hectic schedule of the PGA Tour and the practice requirements of a golfer, the four-week break between seasons isn't enough for Lee to return to New Zealand for a decent break.

When he was knocked out of the FedEx Cup playoffs in September - he eventually finished 88th in the standings - he took a week away before returning to the practice range.

The 2013-14 season was intriguing for Lee. He threatened to tear courses up some weeks but, equally, could struggle to beat a weekend hacker. He was wildly inconsistent from one day to the next.

Lee's best result came at the Puerto Rico Open in March, when he finished second, two strokes behind PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Chesson Hadley.

"Last year, all season long I was struggling with my short game, especially around the green," Lee said. "So when my ball striking gets a little bit off, I couldn't really score well because I'd make so many bogeys. But I've been working really hard on my short game and I think it's improving a little bit. So we'll see how my results are going to turn out."

Lee's potential has never been in question since he won the US Amateur Championships as an 18-year-old in 2008 but his professional career hasn't always been plain sailing.

He has bounced around the PGA Tour, European circuit and second-tier Web.com Tour in the US but last season earned US$781,295 ($1 milllion) in his best campaign as a professional.

Golf Channel analyst and former PGA Tour player Frank Nobilo said Lee needed to find a way to not let his mistakes snowball on the course. "You just want your average golf to be a little bit better and, at the moment, Danny still cycles," Nobilo said.

"He still cycles up and down a little bit too much from where he should be. He might be a little bit aggressive and that's one of the things he's got to find out. His game's still maturing so it's a case of where you have one hook you fix it, as opposed to three hooks or two big slices."

There are three Kiwis on the PGA Tour this season, with Tim Wilkinson and Steven Alker playing alongside Lee, the most in a decade.

The 24-year-old Lee was in a share of 22nd at the midway point of the 2014-15 season-opening Frys.com Open in California yesterday, six strokes behind Scotland's Martin Laird after a handy second-round 67.

Wilkinson also carded a 67 and is a further three shots back but Alker (71) missed the cut on his return to the PGA Tour.

Lee wants to return to New Zealand soon and there's a chance he may do so after playing the Australian Open in Sydney late next month, although his plans aren't set in stone.

The lure of a mince pie, though, might be all he needs to convince him.