New Zealand teenager Danny Lee overcame a disastrous start and some wayward work off the tee to sit comfortably in 38th place after the first round of the Byron Nelson Championship PGA golf tournament in Texas today.
Lee and compatriot Tim Wilkinson produced contrasting rounds but were level with 14 other golfers on one-under 69, just four shots behind co-leaders Ken Duke of the United States and Australian James Nitties.
One of the last to finish, 18-year-old Lee managed a chip-in birdie on the par-five 16th hole to finish under the card around the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving.
It looked like a long day when he shot a double bogey on the par-three second hole but gradually recovered through four birdies, with just one bogey on the 12th blotting his progress.
US amateur champion Lee, making his third start as a professional, was long but inaccurate off the tea - hitting just three fairways in regulation out of 14, among the worst in the field for that category.
Wilkinson was shorter but more accurate with his driving, shooting birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to rescue his one-over score with three holes remaining.
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Meanwhile, New Zealand's Michael Campbell has suffered a new injury as he slumped from contention at the PGA Championship in Wentworth, England this morning.
Just weeks after ridding himself of a nagging right shoulder, Campbell had to undergo on-course medical treatment for a lower back complaint on four occasions during an opening round 79.
His seven-over effort was nearly matched by 78 from compatriot Mark Brown, which leaves both as long shots to make the cut tonight.
There is a three-way tie for the lead at the 4.5 million euros event, with Englishmen David Horsey and Anthony Wall alongside Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano on five-under 67.
- NZPA
Golf: Promising round for Lee; but Cambo struggles
Danny Lee
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