Feb 23

Written by:
2/23/2009 

Winning the US Amateur is a major accomplishment.  It takes a talented, well-rounded golfer to weave his way through medal play and then win out in match play.  One thing I've noticed over the last decade is that winning the Amateur doesn't always lead to professional success.

Since Tiger Woods wrapped up his three-peat in 1996, there have been 12 different winners and we have yet to see a professional win (Nick Flanigan had three wins on the Nationwide Tour).  These are all great players, they just haven't seen much success on the big Tour. 

I'll contradict myself by highlight Jeff Quinney and Ryan Moore (both natives of the Northwest), who have won about $3.8 million and $4.8 million respectively.  There have been plenty of second place and top ten finishes in regular Tour events, which I would call successful.

What's this all about, you ask?  I wanted to take the time to point out that the 2008 winner, New Zealand's Danny Lee, won a professional event over the weekend.  Lee, who had just hoped to make the cut, finished atop the Johnnie Walker Classic leaderboard. 

The kicker? He hasn't turned pro yet and had to give up the $298,000 winner's check in order to keep his amateur status and still be eligible to play in The Masters.

After becoming the youngest man to win a US Amateur, Lee became the first Amateur champion to win a regular Tour event (Anthony Kim was in the field).  I think this shows that Lee has what it takes to be a force on the PGA or European Tours after going pro following The Masters.  This may finally be the golfer that fans have waited for with the right mix of talent and moxie to get things done on a regular basis.

If you don't follow the world's top amateur players or the events that aren't happening on US soil, keep an eye on Lee and don't be surprised by what you see from him over the next few years.