Golf: Lee's season is all in the wrist

Danny Lee. Photo / Getty Images

Forewarned is not necessarily forearmed in the case of New Zealand golfer Danny Lee.

He has succumbed to a wrist injury less than three months after former touring professional Craig Perks voiced concerns about the youngster's punishing schedule.

The injury is bad enough to have forced his temporary absence from the playing circuit. While his support team play down the significance of the injury, it raises potentially serious issues in the long term unless Lee moderates the time he devotes to practice.

Lee, who celebrates his 21st birthday next month, tweaked his left wrist some time back and it troubled him enough to force his withdrawal midway through the two-round European qualifying event for the US Open in England earlier this month. He has subsequently pulled out of the BMW International Open in Germany as well as next week's French Open and now plans to return to the European Tour for the Scottish Open starting at Inverness on July 7.

His agent Kevin Lynch said that Lee, the 2009 US amateur champion, had undergone tests and sought the opinion of a number of specialists.

"The consensus was that there is no major damage," Lynch said. "It is more of an 'over-use' issue and rest was prescribed."

Perks, a Golf Channel analyst and teaching professional as well as the only New Zealander to have won The Players Championship, the unofficial fifth major, had predicted Lee's heavy playing and travel schedule, combined with a work ethic which demands countless hours on the practice range, might catch up with the young man.

In just his second full season in the paid ranks, Lee is dividing his attention between the European Tour and the second tier Nationwide Tour in the US. Lee told Perks in March he intended playing upwards of 35 events this year, a workload which immediately set off the alarm bells.

"That can take a tremendous toll, even on a kid of that age," Perks said. "As hard as he's working he just has to be careful that he doesn't over-train and that he's fresh every Thursday, more so mentally than physically."

Lynch downplayed such concerns, saying Lee's schedule featured about 30 tournaments.

"The decision to balance both tours has certainly been discussed at great length," he said. "We are in week 25 of the year and Danny has played 14 events by my count. I'm not sure he was ever going to get to the 35-event mark, but 30 or so is probably a more realistic number.

Lynch said Lee's handlers had been conscious of the need to lighten the player's practice load during the week of a tournament.

"Danny is working to be one of the best players in the world and wants to continue to play a global schedule.

"Frankly, I think Danny will probably always be a guy that plays more than the average and not less."

The injury struck at a bad time for Lee, who had been showing signs that a tournament win was within his grasp. He had just strung together four top-10 results in five outings on both the Nationwide and European circuits.

He is presently 69th on the European money list with tournament income of €186,308 ($325,964).

- NZPA