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Former professional golfer Greg Turner has little doubt high-flying amateur Danny Lee has what it takes to succeed in the professional ranks.
Speaking a day after Lee's stunning one-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Turner said the teenager's focus and maturity would stand him in good stead when he makes the jump after the US Masters in April.
Lee earned a Masters invite with his US Amateur win last year, meaning he had to resist the temptation to turn professional until after Augusta.
"It would be naive to think it will be just all plain sailing," Turner said today.
"At the end of the day, he's still 18 years old so he's going to go through the troughs, some of the swings and roundabouts, that golf throws at you.
"But it was an extraordinarily mature performance in Perth... to stand up in that company and stare everybody down, to play with such poise and control down the stretch was extraordinary for a kid of that age."
Lee won't see a cent of the A$460,000 ($583,000) first prizemoney at The Vines, which will be shared by second placegetters Ross McGowan (England), Felipe Aguilar (Chile) and Hiroyuki Fujita (Japan).
World golfing heavyweights Anthony Kim and Lee Westwood were among the also-rans yesterday as Lee rattled in four birdies in his last six holes for a five-under-par 67. His 17-under total included four successive rounds in the 60s.
With a result like that, Turner said there was no questioning Lee's talent. But it would be his capacity to deal with the down times in the pro ranks that would really prove his measure.
"Ultimately, his ability to fulfil his potential will more likely result from his capacity to deal with the down side rather than the up side.
"That's something we'll all have to wait and see, but you can't help but feel positive about what he's achieved so far.
The week-in, week-out grind of the professional ranks was a tough proving ground, he said.
"It's just the continual level of competition, and the experienced guys you're up against. It's a big hurdle, but he looks better placed to overcome it than just about anybody that we've seen in a long time.
"Danny has always been extraordinarily talented, but you never know how far that's going to take a player. He's been a prodigy for a while, but he's kept on keeping on."
Turner said it was Lee's mental strength that would be crucial in the development of his professional career.
"You've got to have enough talent, enough ability, enough technical capability and once you get to that point then it's pretty much all psychological.
"Clearly the difference in him at the moment is his ability to be able to deal with pressure and seemingly not be affected, or when he is affected be able to cope with it.
"That's the thing that makes him stand out."
The 18-year-old from Rotorua, who returns home next month for the PGA Championship in Christchurch and the New Zealand Open in Queenstown, has drawn inevitable comparisons with Tiger Woods.
Turner said such a comparison was "pretty daunting".
"But what he's achieved at his age is in that same category of Tiger, so I guess comparisons are natural. He's got to maintain that level of development for another 10 years and that's a pretty tough ask.
"But you can't do much more than he's done."
- NZPA
