CALEDON, Ont. — Richard Lee was talking to his wife last night, who said that with the new update to the PGA Tour mobile app, a fireball appears next to the name of any player who makes three straight birdies.
Lee was thinking about that through Friday and, yes, he did achieve the feat — actually making four in a row en route to firing a 6-under 64.
It was the round of the morning wave and Lee, who was born in Richmond Hill, Ont., and moved to Vancouver when he was one, stood tied for second at 9-under for the week.
“Just had a perfect scorecard today and just love being out here in front of the Canadian fans,” Lee said. “It’s been a while.”
Lee, 34, is playing the RBC Canadian Open for the fourth time in his career, but has never made the cut until now. His debut came in 2009 when he was a celebrated youngster. He earned his way into the 2007 U.S. Open at just 15, becoming the second-youngest participant in the history of the tournament. He turned pro after that week and won for the first time almost a decade later, in 2014.
Lee plays primarily in Asia. He has three wins on the Asian Tour, including in November last year, and four wins on the Korean Tour, including in April of this year.
He hasn’t had any success on the PGA Tour, but didn’t seem fazed by the atmosphere through 36 holes at TPC Toronto, despite acknowledging that it’s the biggest stage on which he’s played.
“It’s the PGA Tour. Any kid out there wants to play out here and perform the way of all the best players out there,” Lee said.
Lee, who opened with a 3-under 67, had a steady start to his second round, going 1-under for his first nine holes. After making the turn (he started on the back nine), he birdied Nos. 1-4 and added another on the par-3 7th after knocking his tee ball to just three feet. In all, Lee was first in strokes gained: approach to green on Friday, gaining more than nine shots on the field with his ball striking.
Lee narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Open Monday in New Jersey, but said his game was “trending pretty well” and had just missed a few putts. If his putter got hot, he said, he’d be ready for a good result this week at the Canadian Open.
Lee and his wife had a child last year. He said he hasn’t tried to qualify for the PGA Tour in at least a decade, but he did admit Friday he’s going to sign up for Q-School this year. He also told Sportsnet that if he finishes in the top 10 to earn a spot in the next PGA Tour event on the schedule with an open field (the next two weeks are the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship, which is a limited-field signature event), then he would absolutely play that.
He said he hadn’t tried to come back to America to play more because, simply, he’s more comfortable in Asia. It would be tough, Lee said, to go back and forth.
But with a good result this week, he’ll be spending a bit more time on this side of the world.
Lee is three shots back of Cameron Champ, who sits at 12 under and leads the way at the mid-point of the afternoon at the Canadian Open.
Fellow Canadians Adam Hadwin and Corey Conners will also find the weekend at TPC Toronto after rounds of 68 and 66, respectively, on Friday.
Two-time winner Rory McIlroy is struggling mightily through Friday after making an eight on the par-4 5th.
Source link
