Golf: Teenager ready for big step up

DONGGUAN - New Zealand teenager Eddie Lee, one of only two amateurs to win on the Asian Davidoff Tour, is keen to make a big impression when he debuts as a professional in China today.

Lee has his first start in the paid ranks in the TCL Classic in Dongguan, near Guangzhou in the south of the country.

"I'm really looking forward to playing. It's my first event as a professional but I'm not going to put any pressure on myself.

"I'm going out there to try and have some fun," said Lee, who moved from Korea to New Zealand with his family as a 5-year-old.

He will celebrate his 19th birthday on Saturday.

Lee gave up his amateur status after last month's world amateur teams championships in Malaysia, where New Zealand tied for fifth among 63 nations.

He is taking up his two-year winner's exemption on the Davidoff Tour courtesy of his stunning victory at the Maekyung Open in Korea in May.

Lee is in top company in China, where the headline act is American John Daly.

The two-time major winner played well early this year, recording a personal best of 13 consecutive rounds of level par or better and finished joint fourth in the Buick Invitational and fourth in the Phoenix Open on the US PGA Tour.

But his form has been poor since then and he is looking to make amends when he tees off at Harbour Plaza Golf Club in Dongguan.

Michael Campbell of New Zealand, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, England's Lee Westwood, Irishman Paul McGinley and Scotland's Andrew Coltart will also compete.

"I am real excited to be here although I have not been playing too much recently as my mother has not been well," said Daly, who is also looking into the possibility of designing a course in China.

Meanwhile, eight-time major winner Tom Watson will play in next month's Australian Masters at the Huntingdale Golf Club.

Watson has always had a great feel for the game's history and particularly enjoys playing on Melbourne's famed sandbelt courses.

He won the 1984 Australian Open at Royal Melbourne, but has not played Downunder since the late 1990s.

The 53-year-old Watson is now one of the major drawcards on the US Senior Tour.

"I have always enjoyed my visits to Australia and think I can still show the young guys how to hit a shot or two," he said.

For a period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Watson was the best player in the world.

He won the British Open five times in nine years and recorded at least three US tournament victories annually from 1977-82.

The Australian Masters field also includes leading Australians Adam Scott, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby, rising American star Ty Tryon and English great Nick Faldo.

- AGENCIES