Rarely do I get excited about amateur golf. It’s like football recruiting to me: A lot of hype and usually not much substance. So and so is the next Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam. How many times have we heard that overblown proclamation in the last two decades from followers of junior golf?
Well, I’ve got news for you folks, I ventured down to the final round of the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 over the weekend and indeed saw golf’s next great player – high school senior Danny Lee of New Zealand.
Lee, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, has some serious game, breaking the 108-year-old record for youngest player to win a U.S Amateur. Whose record did he break? Well, none other than Eldrick T. Woods.
Lee is of Asian descent (he was born in Korea), so he doesn’t say much but carries a big stick – and lots of confidence – similar to one Tiger Woods.
The just-turned 18-year-old quickly fell behind by two holes in the 36-hole final match to Florida State sophomore Drew Kittleson, who regularly bombs drives more than 300 yards like most of the young bucks these days, but remained calm and in control, winning seven of nine holes to take a 5-up lead into lunch, which must have tasted pretty good.
When pressed in the afternoon as Kittleson closed within two holes, Lee turned on the afterburners, logging birdies on six of his next eight holes to close things out. One of those birdies came after going over the par-5 10th hole in two, a major no-no on Ross greens. Left with a nearly impossible short-side pitch, Lee’s flop shot landed softly within six feet of the stick. Of course, he made the birdie putt. It was an amazing display of talent and nerves.
Much like Woods, Lee’s irons soared sky high, landing ever-so softly on the difficult Donald Ross turtleback greens, while his clutch putting left everyone in the gallery – and Kittleson – shaking their heads.
Kids flocked to Lee during the week of grueling match play. “I like kids,” Lee said. “And am I a kid?”
A kid with a man’s game. The week before the U.S. Amateur, just down the road in Greensboro playing on a sponsor’s exemption, Lee finished in a tie for 20th in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship — some pretty heady stuff for a teenager.
But he’s still a kid at heart. He kidded that he was going to celebrate with a beer, then reneged, instead heading to the movies. He also headed over to nearby Fort Bragg to “throw some bombs and shoot some guns” with a friend who is deployed at the base before heading back to New Zealand to finish his prep education.
Hey, you have to admit we were due. Every 10-15 years a star in the making emerges in the sporting world of golf. No one was better than Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson before Ben Hogan and Sam Snead came along. Surely, they were the greatest until Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus sent journalists scurrying for the record books. Then there was Watson, Norman and now Tiger, who has been on top for more than a decade.
Golf is due for the next great thing, and I have seen him firsthand. His name is Danny Lee. Remember I told you so first.
Let me know if you saw Lee’s performance in person or on the Golf Channel by blogging with me.