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SYDNEY - A maiden professional tournament win under his belt, Danny Lee didn't take long to put the world's premier golfer in his sights.
Having already trumped Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the US Amateur title, the 18-year-old from Rotorua reckoned his golfing idol's exploits were
a handy benchmark as he contemplated his stunning one-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth yesterday.
"The next Tiger Woods, maybe," he said when asked of his career ambitions.
"No, I can't compare to Tiger because he's one of the greatest players in the world, and he's the No 1 ranked player in the world.
"All I want to do is just break what he's done - obviously I can't win three events in a row and the US Amateur - but I'll try to break his record on the PGA Tour."
With Woods set to return from an injury layoff next week, the pair will next rub shoulders at the US Masters in April.
Lee earned a Masters invite with his US Amateur win, meaning he had to resist the temptation to turn professional until after Augusta.
It meant he didn't see a cent of the A$460,000 ($583,000) first prizemoney at The Vines, which was 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.
Next for Lee is the Moonah Classic in Melbourne next week, before he returns home for PGA Championship in Christchurch and the New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
He'll attempt to become just the second 18-year-old winner of the Open - after the legendary Sir Bob Charles - in its 90-year history.
Lee took time yesterday to rate top New Zealand golfers Michael Campbell and Phil Tataurangi as major career influences.
Then there's the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Georgia Cup, where the US Amateur winner faces the British Amateur winner in 36-hole matchplay, before the Masters.
In the meantime, yesterday was plenty for Lee to deal with.
His first reaction: "It still feels like I'm in a dream and I hope nobody wakes me up."
Still, he looked every bit the pro as the big galleries yelled his name and he showed nerves of steel down the stretch.
Then the realisation sank in as McGowan trudged up the 18th needing an eagle to force a playoff. Lee calmly smiled and offered a wave as the television cameras zoomed in, later admitting he "really liked" the media attention.
He'd only thought victory was possible when he birdied the ninth yesterday.
"I wasn't feeling really great with my woods, so I was just trying to play as safe as I can, make birdies on the last five holes, and yeah, I was thinking about (winning) after nine holes."
Lee was still unhappy with his putting, notably two three-putts for bogey yesterday, although they were offset by seven birdies and some excellent par saves.
While he couldn't bank any prizemoney, victory in the tri-sanctioned event earned Lee exempt status for two years on the European, Asian and Australasian tours.
He hadn't yet decided which tour he would target, with the inevitable flood of offers to play US tournaments also to follow.
"I played the Asian Tour events and the European Tour events, and both, I just loved them," he said.
"It's a great experience and they treat you really nicely, and you know, I wish I could play in every Tour event I can."
- NZPA
