Golf: Strong finishes for Kiwis

Danny Lee shared 13th spot at Wells Fargo. File photo: Getty Images
Danny Lee shared 13th spot at Wells Fargo. File photo: Getty Images

Danny Lee has recorded a respectable top-15 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour in the United States.

The 24-year-old from Rotorua signed for a two-under 70 during his final round in Charlotte, North Carolina, as he ended the week at nine-under in a share of 13th.

Lee was 12 strokes back from runaway winner Rory McIlroy who finished at 21-under today, seven shots ahead of Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers who shared second place at 14-under.

Lee's useful result should push him inside the top 60 on the FedEx Cup standings, while fellow Kiwi Steven Alker was projected to jump to 180th after finishing in a share of 28th at the Wells Fargo event.

Alker, in his first season on the PGA Tour since 2003, has been struggling for results but this top-30 effort may be the catalyst to get his campaign firing. Manawatu's Tim Wilkinson missed the cut in Charlotte.

Meanwhile, on the OneAsia Tour, Kiwis Ryan Fox and Gareth Paddison finished in a tie for second at the Maekyung Open in South Korea yesterday.

The pair were among four players who finished the week at two-under, two shots back from winner Kyongjun Moon (four-under).

Paddison and Fox earned $86,337 for their efforts, which has put them inside the top three on the order of merit after two events on the 11-tournament circuit.

Of the other New Zealanders in the field, Jae An finished in a tie for 20th at four-over, while Harry Bateman claimed a share of 35th at eight-over and Michael Long finished in 51st at 12-over with Nick Gillespie two shots further back at 14-under in a tie for 56th.

On the Japan Golf Tour, Michael Hendry claimed a share of 11th at nine-under at the Japan PGA Championship. The North Shore professional, who pocketed $29,290, was seven strokes back from champion Adam Bland. The Australian finished at 16-under.

On the PGA Tour China circuit, Masterton's Ben Campbell finished in a share of 10th at The Eternal Courtyard Open after he ended the tournament at one-over, 10 strokes back from winner Shih Chang Chan (nine-under).

Josh Geary claimed a tie for 30th at six-over, while Waikato's Mathew Perry was well off the pace at 15-over in a share of 62nd.

Ko on track in Virginia

On the LPGA Tour, world No 1 Lydia Ko looks set to record another top-20 finish at the weather-affected Kingsmill Championship in Virginia.

Ko fired a two-under 69 in her final round today to move to five-under for the week, which left her in a share of 16th.

A handful of players from the top 10 were yet to finish their final rounds and the rest of the event was due to be played tomorrow and Ko's position on the leaderboard was unlikely to change.

Australian Minjee Lee (-16), who has three holes to play, has a four-stroke lead over American Alison Lee.

 

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