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By RON BALICKI
Senior Writer

PINEHURST, N.C. – When Danny Lee steps up to the 10th tee Tuesday to begin his second round in the stroke-play portion at the 108th U.S. Amateur Championship, he will be getting his first look at Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 course.

Unlike many of the other 314 players in this year’s starting field, Lee did not get in a practice round on the Donald Ross-designed course that has served as venue for two U.S. Opens, a U.S. Amateur, a Ryder Cup and a PGA Championship.

While his fellow competitors were checking things out at Pinehurst, Lee, 18, was some 75 miles away in Greensboro on his way to tying for 20th at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, his first appearance in an American professional tournament.

“That was an unbelievable experience,” said Lee, who was born in South Korea and is living in New Zealand, where his family moved when he was 9. “To be playing with the top players in the world was so much fun. I learned so much from them and watching what they do and how they play.”

Playing in his third U.S. Amateur, Lee, No. 1 in the Golfweek/Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings, shot 1-over-par 71 on the No. 4 course, which also is being used during stroke play. That left him four shots behind leaders Wesley Bryan of Chapin, S.C., and Andrew Putnam of University Place, Wash.

Barden Berry, Matt Cook, David McDaniel, Jeff Edelman, Sihwan Kim and Isaiah Telles came in with 68s. There were 12 players at 69, including two-time AJGA Player of the Year Peter Uihlein and 52-year-old Brady Exber.

Starting on the back nine of the No. 2 course, Bryan, who tied for fifth at this year’s Porter Cup and was in the Sweet 16 at the U.S. Public Links, birdied No. 15, bogeyed 16 and birdied 17 to turn in 1 under. The incoming South Carolina freshman added birdies at Nos. 2 and 5.

“I only hit four fairways and scrambled around all day,” said Bryan, who played the two courses for the first time last month at the North & South Amateur. “I was hitting it so far off line that I had some good lies in the pine straw and on the packed-down cart paths. You name it, I was on it. But I got up and down from everywhere.”

Putnam, a sophomore at Pepperdine who started on the back nine at No. 4, got off to a ho-hum start with pars on his first 10 holes. He bogeyed No. 2 but then caught the hot hand and closed with birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 9.

Among other top-five world-ranked players: No. 2 Rickie Fowler shot 73, No. 3 Billy Horschel shot 69, No. 4 Kyle Stanley had a 70 and No. 5 Jamie Lovemark came in with 74. Each of the top five played the No. 4 course.

“Overall, it was pretty awful,” Lovemark said after his round. “I definitely have a lot of things to work on, especially my putting. But I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve played No. 2 a lot more (advanced to final of this year’s North & South Amateur) and really feel comfortable out there.”

Except for one brief stretch, Lee never could find his comfort zone. He was 2 over after five holes but bounced back with three consecutive birdies at holes 7-9. He went the opposite way on holes 11-13 with bogeys before making a final birdie at the 17th.

“I hit the ball OK and putted pretty good. I just couldn’t get the ball in the hole,” Lee said. “The course played hard out there today. Considering everything, I’m pleased with 71. It could have been worse.”

Lee’s whirlwind last two weeks have “changed my life,” he said.

Lee began the month by winning the Western Amateur after being the event’s 72-hole medalist. The day after what he termed “the biggest victory of my life,” Lee was in Springfield, Ill., and shot 133 at Piper Glen Golf Club to win a U.S. Amateur qualifier by five strokes.

He then headed east to North Carolina after gaining a sponsor exemption into the Wyndham Championship. On his way to Greensboro, he made a short detour to Pinehurst and played the No. 4 course Monday. Then it was off to Sedgefield Country Club for a  practice round Tuesday.

After shooting 68-66 and easily making the cut at 6 under, Lee drove to Pinehurst, arriving about 4 p.m. Friday, to register for the Amateur. Then it was back to Greensboro where he went on to shoot a pair of 67s over the weekend.

He arrived back in Pinehurst about 8 p.m. Sunday to get ready for his 8 a.m. tee time in Monday’s opening round of stroke play.

“Right now, I’m a little tired,” Lee said after his round. “I couldn’t get to sleep; it was probably 11:30 or 12. Then I was up at 6 this morning. But if you’re playing well, it’s all a lot of fun. If you’re playing bad, it’s not so much fun.”

Playing well is something Lee has been doing for quite some time, especially this year.

He took up the game at age 8, following in the footsteps of his mother, So Jin Seo Lee, who was a teaching professional at a driving range in South Korea.

“I went to mom’s driving range one time and saw all these people hitting golf balls and it looked like fun,” Lee recalled. “I grabbed a driver and starting hitting. My mom liked it and encouraged me to keep playing.”

And play he has. This year alone, Lee also has top-10 finishes at the Porter Cup, Northeast Amateur and Dogwood Invitational, and he tied for 17th at the Players Amateur.

Before coming to the U.S. for the summer, Lee was a semifinalist in the Australian Amateur, tied for 13th in the Australian Amateur Stroke Play and won the North Island Amateur in New Zealand.

“Obviously, I have had a very good year, especially these last two weeks,” Lee said. “It has been more than I could have ever expected.”

Lee said he has received interest from just about every major college or university in the country, but he has no plans on going to school and playing collegiate golf. He is not sure when he will turn professional but said he plans to enter the PGA Tour Q-School, where he is exempt from prequalifying after making the cut in the Wyndham.

“Right now, I’m not sure if I’ll go to Q-School as an amateur or not,” Lee said. “A lot could depend on what happens this week.”

Should he win, he would earn exemptions into next year’s U.S. and British Opens as well as a probable invite to the Masters. That might sway him into staying an amateur a little longer.

• • •

Ron Balicki is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him email rbalicki@golfweek.com.

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Scores with relation to par from the first round of stroke-play qualifying from the U.S. Amateur, played Aug. 18 at the par-70, 7,281-yard No. 2 Course (a) and par-70, 7,030-yard No. 4 Course (b) at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.:

1. Wesley Bryan	67	a			-3
1. Andrew Putnam	67	b			-3
3. Barden Berry	68	a			-2
3. Sihwan Kim	68	a			-2
3. Isaiah Telles	68	b			-2
3. Matt Cook	68	b			-2
3. David McDaniel	68	b			-2
3. Jeff Edelman	68	b			-2
9. Dan Woltman	69	a			-1
9. Tyler Gann	69	a			-1
9. Robbie Fillmore	69	a			-1
9. Jesse Massie	69	b			-1
9. Brady Exber	69	b			-1
9. James Bowen	69	b			-1
9. Scott Langley	69	b			-1
9. Sam Smith	69	b			-1
9. Peter Uihlein	69	b			-1
9. Derek Fathauer	69	b			-1
9. Billy Horschel	69	b			-1
9. Jordan Johnstun	69	a			-1
21. Jake Koppenberg	70	a			E
21. Taylor Hall	70	b			E
21. John Hahn	70	b			E
21. Crawford Reeves	70	b			E
21. Rob Chappell	70	b			E
21. Will Wilcox	70	b			E
21. Seung-Su Han	70	b			E
21. Corey Nagy	70	b			E
21. Brian Harman	70	b			E
21. Max McKay	70	b			E
21. Cam Burke	70	b			E
21. Brandon Detweiler	70	b			E
21. Ji Moon	70	b			E
21. Kyle Stanley	70	b			E
21. Nick Taylor	70	a			E
36. David Sanders	71	a		+	1
36. Drew Lethem	71	a		+	1
36. George Gandranata	71	a		+	1
36. Cory Gilmer	71	a		+	1
36. Brad Valois	71	a		+	1
36. Matthew Swan	71	a		+	1
36. Matt Hill	71	a		+	1
36. Hudson Johnson	71	a		+	1
36. Kevin Marsh	71	a		+	1
36. David Bartman	71	a		+	1
36. Danny Lee	71	b		+	1
36. Jason Millard	71	b		+	1
36. Herbert Day Pan	71	b		+	1
36. Sam Saunders	71	b		+	1
36. J.D. Bass	71	b		+	1
36. Jason Bittick	71	b		+	1
36. Skip Berkmeyer	71	b		+	1
36. Philip Francis	71	b		+	1
36. Matthew Giles	71	b		+	1
36. Erik Barnes	71	b		+	1
36. Mark Anderson	71	b		+	1
36. Cheng-Tsung Pan	71	b		+	1
36. Adam Mitchell	71	b		+	1
36. Patrick Reed	71	b		+	1
36. Brian Higgins	71	b		+	1
36. Jacob Burger	71	a		+	1
36. Austin Cody	71	a		+	1
63. Doug Hurson	72	a		+	2
63. Chesson Hadley	72	a		+	2
63. Zen Brown	72	a		+	2
63. Drew Kittleson	72	a		+	2
63. Michael Quagliano	72	a		+	2
63. Connor McHenry	72	a		+	2
63. T.J. Shuart	72	a		+	2
63. Kyle English	72	a		+	2
63. Karsten Clements	72	a		+	2
63. Conrad Von Borsig	72	a		+	2
63. Bryant Lach	72	a		+	2
63. Erik Flores	72	a		+	2
63. Beck Miller	72	a		+	2
63. Kevin O'Connell	72	b		+	2
63. Robert Rohanna	72	b		+	2
63. Tim Mckenney	72	b		+	2
63. Trent Sanders	72	b		+	2
63. Michael O'Neal	72	b		+	2
63. John Atherton	72	b		+	2
63. Baker Elmore	72	b		+	2
63. Greg Carlin	72	b		+	2
63. Derek Tolan	72	b		+	2
63. Jordan Walor	72	b		+	2
63. Robert Gerwin	72	a		+	2
63. Josh Anderson	72	a		+	2
63. Bryan Martin	72	a		+	2
63. Adam Hadwin	72	a		+	2
90. Kevin Tway	73	a		+	3
90. Brinson Paolini	73	a		+	3
90. Jon Peterson	73	a		+	3
90. Michael Green	73	a		+	3
90. Charlie Holland	73	a		+	3
90. Byeong-Hun An	73	a		+	3
90. J.C. Horne	73	a		+	3
90. James Sacheck	73	a		+	3
90. Jordan Irwin	73	a		+	3
90. Dustin Garza	73	a		+	3
90. Paul Woodbury	73	a		+	3
90. Trent Leon	73	a		+	3
90. Will Griffin	73	a		+	3
90. Andrew Landry	73	a		+	3
90. Matt McArthur	73	a		+	3
90. Reed Darsie	73	a		+	3
90. Peter Croonquist	73	a		+	3
90. David Vanegas	73	a		+	3
90. Joseph Saladino	73	a		+	3
90. Travis Reid	73	a		+	3
90. Blake Rowe-Sleeman	73	b		+	3
90. David Chung	73	b		+	3
90. Rickie Fowler	73	b		+	3
90. Josh Jones	73	b		+	3
90. George Bryan IV	73	b		+	3
90. Jeff Wilson	73	b		+	3
90. Mac McLaughlin	73	b		+	3
90. Jack Fields	73	b		+	3
90. Kory Storer	73	b		+	3
90. Jordan Cox	73	b		+	3
90. Carl Santos-Ocampo	73	b		+	3
90. Ian Rochester	73	b		+	3
90. Stephen Hale	73	b		+	3
90. Brent Witcher	73	b		+	3
90. Lion Kim	73	b		+	3
90. Anthony Fernando	73	b		+	3
90. Daniel Debra	73	b		+	3
90. Phillip Mollica	73	b		+	3
90. Jonathan Caldwell	73	b		+	3
90. Mike Van Sickle	73	b		+	3
90. Alan Bratton	73	b		+	3
90. Conrad Shindler	73	b		+	3
90. Dan Abbondandolo	73	a		+	3
90. Joel Dahmen	73	a		+	3
90. Phillip Weaver	73	a		+	3
135. Brendan Gielow	74	a		+	4
135. Jack Newman	74	a		+	4
135. Drew Weaver	74	a		+	4
135. Danny Zimmerman	74	a		+	4
135. Jay Moseley	74	a		+	4
135. Eddie Olson	74	a		+	4
135. Graham Hill	74	a		+	4
135. Jason Cuthbertson	74	a		+	4
135. Mike McCoy	74	a		+	4
135. Clark Klaasen	74	a		+	4
135. Tommy Parker	74	b		+	4
135. Michael Vallillo Jr.	74	b		+	4
135. T.J. Bordeaux	74	b		+	4
135. Jamie Lovemark	74	b		+	4
135. Andrew Widmar	74	b		+	4
135. Hyun Seok Lim	74	b		+	4
135. Adam Long	74	b		+	4
135. Anthony Paolucci	74	b		+	4
135. Christopher Gold	74	b		+	4
135. Matthew Denison	74	b		+	4
135. Bronson Burgoon	74	b		+	4
135. Mark Silvers	74	b		+	4
135. Danny Simmerman	74	b		+	4
135. Reed Howard	74	b		+	4
135. Todd Mitchell	74	b		+	4
135. Alexander Sitompul	74	b		+	4
135. Derek Ernst	74	b		+	4
135. Kyle Ellis	74	b		+	4
135. Ryan Spears	74	b		+	4
135. Andrew Rice	74	b		+	4
135. Brian Locke	74	b		+	4
135. Dave Womack	74	b		+	4
135. Chris Derby	74	b		+	4
135. Zack Byrd	74	b		+	4
135. Nick Cowper	74	a		+	4
135. Ravi Patel	74	a		+	4
135. Matthew Bassler	74	a		+	4
172. Santiago Rivas	75	a		+	5
172. Jack Hall	75	a		+	5
172. Carter Collins	75	a		+	5
172. Keith Decker	75	a		+	5
172. Mu Hu	75	a		+	5
172. Jeff Griest	75	a		+	5
172. Brad Doster	75	a		+	5
172. Tom Hoge	75	a		+	5
172. Derek Denlinger	75	a		+	5
172. Yu Katayama	75	a		+	5
172. Mike Barry	75	a		+	5
172. Sean Knapp	75	a		+	5
172. Chris DeForest	75	b		+	5
172. Anton Arboleda	75	b		+	5
172. Ross Beal	75	b		+	5
172. Mike Coatman	75	b		+	5
172. Jeremy Gearhart	75	b		+	5
172. Steve Ziegler	75	b		+	5
172. Matt Ewald	75	b		+	5
172. Craig Steckowych	75	b		+	5
172. Nathan Smith	75	b		+	5
172. Eddie Kenny	75	b		+	5
172. Blayne Barber	75	b		+	5
172. Mike Barbosa	75	b		+	5
172. Jordan Holley	75	b		+	5
172. Roberto Galletti Jr.	75	b		+	5
172. Jamie Miller	75	b		+	5
172. Morgan Hoffmann	75	a		+	5
200. Scott Davenport	76	a		+	6
200. Liam Friedman	76	a		+	6
200. John Chin	76	a		+	6
200. Darren Hupfer	76	a		+	6
200. Ben Fuqua	76	a		+	6
200. Jhonattan Vegas	76	a		+	6
200. Ramon Favela	76	a		+	6
200. Ricky Jones	76	a		+	6
200. Matt Grush	76	a		+	6
200. Tim Cha	76	a		+	6
200. Neil Horsley	76	a		+	6
200. Lee Palms	76	a		+	6
200. Lucas Bogdan	76	a		+	6
200. Matt Kinsinger	76	b		+	6
200. Jimmy Henderson	76	b		+	6
200. Parker Pemberton	76	b		+	6
200. Tyler Neal	76	b		+	6
200. David Byrne	76	b		+	6
200. John Ervasti	76	b		+	6
200. Matt Bergstrom	76	b		+	6
200. Jeff Mallette	76	b		+	6
200. Robert Cronheim	76	b		+	6
200. Bud Cauley	76	b		+	6
200. Carlos Sainz Jr.	76	b		+	6
200. Travis Woolf	76	b		+	6
200. Connor Arendell	76	a		+	6
200. Ben Herrera	76	a		+	6
200. Kevin Aylwin	76	a		+	6
228. Aaron Siekmann	77	a		+	7
228. David Lipsky	77	a		+	7
228. Brian Edick	77	a		+	7
228. Klinton Krieger	77	a		+	7
228. Jeremy Defalco	77	a		+	7
228. Danny Green	77	a		+	7
228. Zahkai Brown	77	a		+	7
228. Cole Moreland	77	a		+	7
228. Satch Herrmann	77	a		+	7
228. Masayuki Kobayashi	77	a		+	7
228. Patrick Pierson	77	a		+	7
228. Robert Streb	77	a		+	7
228. Lorens Chan	77	a		+	7
228. Mike Slosek	77	a		+	7
228. Abraham Lee	77	a		+	7
228. C.J. Gatto	77	a		+	7
228. Douglas Parigian	77	a		+	7
228. Scott Saal	77	a		+	7
228. Ben Bendtsen III	77	b		+	7
228. Ty Cox	77	b		+	7
228. Mark Stevens	77	b		+	7
228. Don O'Connor	77	b		+	7
228. Mike Prescott	77	b		+	7
228. Mike Sorenson	77	b		+	7
228. Robert Dargan	77	b		+	7
228. Jin Jeong	77	b		+	7
228. Erich Johnston	77	b		+	7
228. Joey Benedetti	77	b		+	7
228. Jonathan Carlson	77	b		+	7
228. Jamie Puterbaugh	77	b		+	7
228. Jarrod Barsamian	77	a		+	7
228. Bob Wheeler	77	a		+	7
260. Stephen Clark	78	a		+	8
260. Nathan Kinker	78	a		+	8
260. Stephen Anderson	78	a		+	8
260. Zach Glassman	78	a		+	8
260. Paul Hammerschmidt	78	a		+	8
260. Garrett Fotu	78	a		+	8
260. Will Tischler	78	a		+	8
260. Evan Beck	78	a		+	8
260. Anthony Tsiolkas	78	a		+	8
260. Alex Grieb	78	a		+	8
260. Paul Haley	78	b		+	8
260. Paul Simson	78	b		+	8
260. Kyle Kopsick	78	b		+	8
260. Doug Smith	78	b		+	8
260. Tom Isaak	78	b		+	8
260. Keith Kinsel	78	b		+	8
260. Tyson Alexander	78	b		+	8
260. Benjamin Spitz	78	b		+	8
260. Spencer Anderson	78	a		+	8
260. M. Arie. I. Ahmad Fauzi	78	a		+	8
280. Jay Fisher	79	a		+	9
280. Dean Merrill	79	a		+	9
280. Steven Chung	79	a		+	9
280. Kevin Webber	79	a		+	9
280. Stewart Hagestad	79	a		+	9
280. Zak Drescher	79	a		+	9
280. Greg O'Mahony	79	a		+	9
280. Matt Tribby	79	a		+	9
280. Mike Genovese	79	a		+	9
280. Devin Komline	79	b		+	9
280. Arnond Vongvanij	79	b		+	9
280. Justin Harding	79	b		+	9
280. Austin Eaton III	79	b		+	9
293. Dan Whitaker	80	a		+	10
293. Jim Doidge	80	a		+	10
293. John Mlynarski	80	a		+	10
293. David Lyons	80	a		+	10
293. Danny Wax	80	a		+	10
293. Ricky Mcdonald	80	a		+	10
293. Eric Mina	80	b		+	10
293. Eduardo Chavez	80	b		+	10
301. Ryan Trask	81	a		+	11
301. Cameron Peck	81	a		+	11
301. Ming Wang	81	b		+	11
304. Clayton Rotz	82	a		+	12
304. Chris Osentoski	82	a		+	12
304. Sean Hedden	82	b		+	12
304. Michael Rowley	82	b		+	12
304. Andrey Mindirgasov	82	b		+	12
304. Zack Fischer	82	a		+	12
304. C.J. Denmark	82	a		+	12
311. Jack Courington	83	a		+	13
312. Keith Stauffer	85	a		+	15
312. Peter McGibney	85	b		+	15
314. Dick Engel	87	a		+	17
314. Louis Amira	87	b		+	17

Posted: 8/18/2008

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