Danny Lee. Photo / AP
Danny Lee's leading of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational this weekend after the first round shows he is not only enjoying a breakout season but might also have found the missing link holding his career in check.
And, no, I don't mean the non-existent girlfriend Lee shyly alluded to in his press conference when he won the Greenbrier Classic last month. Lee charmed many when saying he would feel better if he had a girlfriend to share the triumph with in his lonely motel room. That led to all manner of tweets and hashtags and his mate, US golfer Pat Perez, even started up a 'Find Danny a Girl' effort online.
No, 25-year-old Lee's emergence on the PGA Tour this year — he is 11th in the Fed Ex Cup standings, is now ranked 66th in the world and has amassed US$3 million so far this season — is down to conquering his fourth-round wobbles.
Time and again, particularly last year, Lee would start well and sustain it over the first three rounds. But he would often stumble in the fourth. He would get into position to contend but would fade, often having one or two (or more) unhappy holes during the round.
Last year, for example, apart from the lesser-strength Puerto Rico Open (where he came second), Lee's poor start to the season (cut in eight of his first 10 tournaments) improved as he managed to avoid more cuts. But his good starts were harpooned by fourth-round flops when he was in the running for some bigger money. Like the Zurich Classic (75 in the last round), the Wells Fargo Open (76), the Crowne Plaza Invitational (70), the FedEx St Jude Classic (73), the Canadian Open (70) and the Barclays (73). Outside Puerto Rico, he had one solitary top-20 finish all season.
Look at him go this year. Since being cut at March's Honda Classic, he has played 17 tournaments (including two majors) and been cut six times (including the two majors). His other finishes include seventh at the Valspar Championship (67 in the final round), 13th at the Wells Fargo (70), 10th at the Crowne Plaza (66), 34th at the AT&T Byron Nelson (69), he won in a playoff at the Greenbrier (67), came third at the John Deere Classic (67), and fourth in the Quicken Loans National last week (69). He has now had seven top-20 placings this season.
True, he has started more tournaments than any other PGA Tour player but, in golf, that means nothing. It is such a head game that failure comfortably shares the same locker room as fortune. Most golfers tend not to overdo things for fear of burnout but Lee is trying to qualify for the President's Cup.
In that tournament, an international team play the US for the trophy and the top 10-ranked international players (non-American and non-European) are automatic selections.
Lee was right on the cusp before the start of the WGC Bridgestone. He was fifth at the halfway mark after a second-round 72.
While playing President's Cup is obviously important to him (it is being played in his native Korea, from which he emigrated to New Zealand when he was eight), that fourth-round solidity will be especially pleasing.
And his putting. Always reasonably strong tee to green, his putting has improved out of sight — from outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour to inside the top 15.
He demonstrated his new-found confidence with a 21-foot birdie on the final hole at the Quicken to claim fourth. He roared the putt in the cup like there could be no other result.
Let's think, too, about the accomplishment of even making the field at the WGC Bridgestone. Someone reasonably well known didn't make it in the 77 places reserved for 2015 tournament winners, Ryder Cup players and the top 50 in the world. Who was that guy? Oh, yes, Tiger Woods.
Lee's achievements also, for once, tend to shade compatriot Lydia Ko. So far this season, she has won a paltry US$1.3m (although she has played only 16 times to Lee's 30 and won twice). He has now qualified for his third major — next weekend's PGA Championship at the tough Whistling Straits course.
It will be fascinating to watch him finish up at the Bridgestone and at Whistling Straits and, longer term, to see whether he has unlocked the door to greater consistency.
As the great Bobby Jones once said: "Golf is played on a five-and-a-half inch course - the space between your ears." Nothing makes that space feel so accessible as confidence.