Danny Lee became the first New Zealander to reach the quarter-finals of the United States Junior Amateur Championships in San Diego.
The 15-year-old Rotorua player won both matches at Rancho Sante Fe yesterday on the final hole.
Lee beat top qualifier Arnond Vongvanij 1 up in their second round clash
in the morning and then beat another American, Robbie Ziegler, by the same margin in the afternoon.
The New Zealand under-23 champion will face Arizona's Richard Lee in today's quarter-final.
Lee fired five birdies to edge out Vongvanij, who was two-under par when the match ended. He bagged four birdies in five holes in the front nine to move to 2 up at the turn before Vongvanij cut the deficit to just one hole at the 11th.
The pair made matching pars over the final seven holes before Lee prevailed.
Lee started strongly to be 3 up after five holes against Ziegler. He was ahead 1 up at the turn, extending it to 2 up after 13 holes before making a bogey at the 14th.
Lee managed to match pars with Ziegler over the final four holes, finishing one over par.
- NZPA
