Golf: Lee emerges from the shadows

Richard Lee watches his iron shot on the first hole at The Hiils, in Arrowtown, yesterday during...
Richard Lee watches his iron shot on the first hole at The Hiils, in Arrowtown, yesterday during the second round of the New Zealand Open. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

The forgotten man of New Zealand golf could be set to be crowned king of The Hills.

Richard Lee surprised everybody - including himself - by racing to a (temporary) two-shot lead in the $900,000 New Zealand Open yesterday.

His 5-under-par 67 at The Hills gave him the second-round clubhouse lead for a good four hours before Australian professional Adam Blyth staged a late run to join him at 9-under for the tournament.

The pair are two shots clear of young New Zealander Mathew Perry and Dimitrios Papadatos. Ryan Fox, Mark Brown and David Klein (all 5-under) are the best of the rest of the Kiwis.

Lee's timing was spectacularly good. Teeing off early, he was able to drain a par putt on his final hole just as the heavens opened, and both the golfers on the course and those awaiting their rounds were drenched.

The southerly blast made life most unpleasant - to the point organisers considered the prospect of a delay - and even though it petered out a little, the afternoon was still brutally tough.

Lee (40) was able to sit down for lunch with a clubhouse lead that was always going to take some beating.

''I'm rapt with my score, especially with the inclement weather coming in,'' Lee said.

''I just hit a few good shots and holed a few good putts, really. I was pretty consistent.

''Hopefully I can go out and do the same over the weekend. If I shoot two rounds in the 60s, I'll be rapt.

''For any Kiwi, you'd love to win the New Zealand Open. I was really disappointed last year. I finished fifth and I hit it in 10 water hazards, so there's 10 penalty shots that killed me. I'd love to win it.''

It is not unkind to describe Lee as a journeyman. Certainly, in an era when Michael Campbell and Phil Tataurangi and Craig Perks and Danny Lee and the like have hogged the headlines, he has been in the shadows.

The North Shore professional was the first New Zealander to shoot a 59 in competition, at the Tauranga Open in 2010, and he has won on the Japan Tour.

But looking after his daughter, now 22 months, has dominated his life in recent times, and by his own admission his form was ''fairly rough'' heading into the Open.

He has been playing with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan in the pro-am.

''I've actually never watched the show. Don't tell him that. He's a great guy, and he probably helped chill me out.''

Blyth followed his solid 70 at The Hills with a sparkling 7-under-par 65 at Millbrook, coming home in 31 and making birdie on three of his last four holes.

Remarkably, he had just 19 putts for the round.

''I putted unbelievably today,'' the Queenslander said.

''It was one of those days that you dream of where everything goes right.''

Blyth put his 3-wood into the water on the 15th and had to come back for a drop. He was left with about 65m and holed it for birdie.

He did not enjoy the conditions but said he had been colder in the British Open at Royal Birkdale in 2008.

The four overnight co-leaders - Terry Pilkadaris (73), Jake Stirling (74), Andrew Dodt (74) and Scott Strange (76) - struggled at The Hills but are still in the hunt.

The cut, affected by the weather, was made at +1. Previous cuts at The Hills were at -2 (2010), -1 (2009) and +1 (2007), but those were under the single-course format.

Pre-tournament favourite Michael Hendry squeaked in on the cut line. Star attraction Rocco Mediate missed the cut by two strokes but will still play today, as his team made the pro-am cut.

Prominent New Zealanders to miss the Open cut included Josh Geary, Greg Turner and Mahal Pearce. Defending champion Jake Higginbottom also dipped out.

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