Danny Lee Gets First Tour Win At the Greenbrier
- Dan Hauser
- 6 Jul, 2015
Danny Lee survived a four man playoff Sunday to win the Greenbrier Classic and get his first win on the PGA Tour. Lee defeated David Hearn on the second playoff hole after Robert Streb and Kevin Kisner were eliminated on the first playoff hole.
“I was just trying to calm down,” Lee said about how he felt when the playoff started. “I was so nervous. My head was blank and I was just trying to breathe. As soon as I stand on the 18 tee box, first playoff hole, I felt ready. I felt like I could really win this thing.”
Kisner, who is now 0-3 this season in playoffs and Streb were both eliminated on the first playoff hole when they both missed the green off the tee on 18 and Hearn and Lee both made birdies. Lee then went on to seal the deal on the second playoff hole when Hearn failed to be able to get up and down for his par save from a difficult lie on 17.
All four golfers were tied at 13-under when regulation finished yesterday, but none of those four had a more interesting way of achieving that score then Streb. After finishing the ninth hole, Streb tossed his putter in the direction of his bag in frustration. The putter hit the bag awkwardly, breaking the putter. Streb was forced to play the back nine without a putter, instead using his 56-degree wedge on the green. He shot a 4-under 32 on the back nine using his wedge to putt, including making five birdies against just one bogey.
“I missed my putt on 9 and meant to lightly land it next to the bag and it didn’t make it quite far enough,” Streb said. “Hit the bottom of the bag and the head flew off, so I was like, ‘Huh, that’s not good.’”
The highlight of his back nine wedge putting performance came on the 13th hole when he made a birdie putt from 30 feet to get to 12-under.
Streb went and retrieved his backup putter before the playoff started but he wouldn’t end up needing it. In the end though, he said he was just happy to be there considering how the day went.
“This far exceeded my expectations, so really happy about it,” he said. “The playoff, I wish it could have gone a little differently, but those guys made two great birdies.”
Streb was already heading to the Open Championship regardless of the outcome Sunday, but will now be joined by Lee, Hearn, James Hahn, and Greg Owen who all qualified based off their finishes on Sunday, and in the case of Lee, his victory.
In addition to Lee earning a spot in the Open Championship, the win also gets him a spot in next year’s Masters, a $1.2 million check, and a two year tour exemption. If you ask Lee though, it gets him one step closer to his ultimate goal for 2015. Lee is looking to get a spot on for the international side at the upcoming Presidents Cup. That’s why he has played 27 times already this season.
“The reason I played so many events was I was really trying to make it into the Presidents Cup this year,” Lee said. “It’s back in Korea. That’s where I was born. I kind of feel like I was playing good but not good enough to win a golf tournament, but this week for some reason I just felt right.”
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
