Peter Williams: Lee's IMG deal makes headlines for wrong reason

There'll be a lot of us golfing trainspotters going on the internet or turning on Sky early Friday morning to see how Danny Lee fares in his first tournament as a professional.

His official signing with IMG predictably created headlines this past week for, as usual, all the wrong reasons. The angle was, of course, money and the reputed US$10 million deal he has with IMG. Whether or not that's true and what the details are, I have no idea and it doesn't really matter. His financial security was never going to be an issue after winning the Western and US Amateur last August.

But the most important aspect of his management deal is that he can begin his professional career with the comfort of regular starts and knowing he doesn't need to skimp on expenses like travel, accommodation and caddie fees, matters which really exercise the mind of many a young player making his way in the game.

Ask the likes of Mark Brown, or more recently Josh Geary, about sharing rooms in motels of dubious quality or looking for cheap flights, while struggling to make cuts and watching that modest pile of hard-earned sponsors' money just whittle away. Ask Aussie Mark Hensby about nights sleeping in his car en route to being a PGA Tour winner.

So which scenario produces the better player? The low-profile but determined youngster with hardly a brass razoo to rub together, or the sizzling amateur star snapped up by a flash management company and given an armchair ride with starts in big tournaments, rich sponsorship deals and no money worries at all?

There is no definitive answer and never has been. Look at New Zealand's current top players. David Smail wasn't even the best amateur in his province when he turned professional, yet he's made millions and is one of the country's most underrated sporting achievers.

Tim Wilkinson went off to the US in 2003 with his own savings and some local support from Manawatu, then worked his way through the hard slog of qualifying tournaments to earn $1 million in 2008.

The nearest we've had in recent times to a big amateur star going professional with some fanfare would have been Gareth Paddison in 2001.

He was picked up by IMG after winning the Canadian Amateur and, although he started promisingly in Australia that summer, life's been a battle since, as he's struggled to keep his place on the European Tour.

There are numerous examples of youngsters turning professional in a blaze of publicity and then quickly falling into a big hole, many to never climb out.

The jury is still out on Nick Flanagan, the Australian who won the US Amateur in 2003. Six years later, he's back on the Nationwide Tour. In his first year playing for money, using invites to PGA Tour events garnered by virtue of his amateur reputation, he made the cut once in 10 tournaments.

But then there's Rory McIlroy, the most recent wonderkid to turn pro. The scruffy-haired youth from Northern Ireland barely blinked as he switched from being an amateur in 2007, finished third in his second event on the European Tour, became the youngest ever to make the world's top 50 and now, at 19, is one of the biggest names in the game.

So there's absolutely no certainty about which direction Danny Lee's career will now take.

Of one thing I'm certain. Golf's oldest saying is 'you drive for show and putt for dough' and it's an adage which applies at whatever level you play. If you don't putt well, you don't win. Putting's the weakest part of Danny's game and he won't unleash his outstanding potential until it improves.