Golf: Top 10 finish for Danny Lee

Danny Lee finished in a tie for seventh place at the AT&T National, seven shots behind winner Tiger Woods. Photo / AP

The numbers are falling Danny Lee's way as the New Zealand rookie golf professional makes inroads towards his financial goal for the season in the United States.

The 18-year-old attained his best result in a brief career on the PGA Tour today, a tie for seventh in the US$6 million ($9.7 million) AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

He posted an even par 70 to end up on six-under 274 for the tournament, seven shots behind the winner, world No 1 and tournament host Tiger Woods.

Lee was in top company, too, sharing that number with two former major champions in Fijian Vijay Singh and American Jim Furyk.

It marked Lee's first top 10 result in seven appearances as a pro on the PGA Tour since April, and bettered his previous best showing of 13th equal in the Byron Nelson Championship in May.

But those figures are a sideshow to the real business that occupies Lee off the course - making money.

A pay cheque for US$180,750 ($292,003) lifted his season's earnings to US$350,054, drawing him closer to his target of US$537,958.

Lee only has another four or five PGA Tour events to play this term, courtesy of sponsors' invitations, to reach that figure.

If ticked off, it would enable the reigning US Amateur champion to take up temporary status on the tour and accept unlimited sponsors' exemptions for the remainder of 2009.

The ultimate goal remains for him to finish inside the top 125 on the moneylist to guarantee him a full playing card for 2010.

Today's top-10 result was a blessing, because it earned Lee a start in the US$4.3m John Deere Classic beginning at Silvis, Illinois, on Friday (NZT) without the need for him to use up one of his few remaining exemptions.

"I'm very pumped up and I've been playing great this week," Lee told Associated Press.

"I don't really worry about the money at the moment, I'm just pumped up because I can play another event with all those greatest players in the world."

So the financial implications were a world away for the teenager on the course today as he challenged briefly for a top-five result before successive bogeys on the back nine saw him slip back.

He began the closing round in a share of eighth place, four shots shy of joint third round leaders, Woods and fellow American Anthony Kim.

Lee's outward journey featured a mixed bag of three birdies and two bogeys before he improved to two-under for the round with another birdie at the 12th, when he edged his way into fifth place.

But the teenager went backwards with successive bogeys at the next two holes on a Congressional course where super slick greens required a delicate touch.

He could not get up and down after finding greenside sand on the par-three 13th then missed the par-four 14th green to the right with his approach.

But he parred the closing four holes to safeguard his top-10 standing, an encouraging outcome after Lee missed the cut in his last two appearances, at the Travellers Championship and the Memorial tournament.

Lee's performance and subsequent entry to the John Deere Classic prompted him to change his plans to travel to Britain to contest the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond this week.

He had originally intended making use of the European Tour membership he earned by winning the Johnnie Walker Classic in February.

However, a guaranteed start in another PGA Tour start was much more attractive than the prospect of travelling vast distances to tee it up in Scotland.

- NZPA