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Posted on Sat, Aug. 23, 2008 10:15 PM
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New Zealander closing in on Tiger’s record at U.S. Amateur

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After a week full of autographs and adulation, Danny Lee is starting to feel like Tiger Woods at the U.S. Amateur.

One more victory, and he’ll surpass him.

Lee moved to the brink of supplanting Woods as the youngest champion in amateur history on Saturday by defeating Patrick Reed 3 and 2 in one semifinal.

If Lee — who is 18 years, 1 month old — beats Florida State sophomore Drew Kittleson in today’s 36-hole final, he would be six months and 29 days younger than Woods was when he won his first amateur in 1994.

“I’m just having a really, really good week,” Lee said at Pinehurst, N.C. “Everything I hit, everything I putt just falls in the hole.”

By advancing to the finals, Lee and Kittleson earned exemptions into next year’s U.S. Open and probable invitations to the Masters, as long as they remain amateurs, which Lee said he would.

For the past week, all eyes have been on Lee. The world’s top-ranked amateur and closest thing this event has to a celebrity will play competitive golf for the 11th consecutive day.

Lee, who was the medalist and match-play winner at the Western Amateur, tuned up for the U.S. Amateur last week by debuting on the PGA Tour, making the cut and tying for 20th at the Wyndham Championship across the state in Greensboro.

Though making light of his fatigue all week — and tweaking his left shoulder while warming up — Lee, a New Zealander, has been nothing short of dominant at the renowned No. 2 course at Pinehurst.

Lee has trailed for only one hole in five match-play rounds. He closed out Reed, a Georgia freshman, with a par on the par-4 16th — a hole he hadn’t needed to play since the second round of stroke play four days earlier.

“He was always putting pressure on me,” Lee said.


PGA Tour
•FedEx Cup in Paramus, N.J.

Steve Stricker lost a ball and a big lead Saturday, leaving Kevin Streelman atop the leaderboard and more than two dozen players in the Barclays title chase.

Streelman, a 29-year-old Q-school graduate in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, took the lead at 8 under with a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-4 16th and parred the final two holes.

LPGA Tour
•Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore.

Helen Alfredsson shot a 67 Saturday to take a 1-stroke lead after the second round. She was 1 stroke ahead of Sophie Gustafson, who shot 68.

Three strokes back of Alfredsson in third place at 137 are Paula Creamer (68) and Kelli Kuehne (70).

Champions Tour
•Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Wash.

Scott Simpson matched the lowest round of the tournament with a 6-under 66 on Saturday and holds a 2-shot lead entering the final round. He made five birdies on the back nine.

Simpson holds a 2-shot lead over David Edwards.

| The Associated Press

Posted on Sat, Aug. 23, 2008 10:15 PM
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