Lee secures top-10 finish at Porter Cup

BY Anthony Powter | US Mens Amateur Tour | 2008 Porter Cup | Round Four | 27 Jul 2008

Danny Lee has fired a final round 71 at the Porter Cup in Lewiston, New York, to finish T9 at 1-under-par, nine strokes from the winner American Adam Mitchell.

Danny Lee also secured The William C. Campbell Award for the best player to record the low aggregate score in the Northeast Amateur, Players Amateur and Porter Cup. Lee finished even-par, 6-under-par and 1-under-par in each of the respective tournaments, for a combined 7-under-par total confirming the 18-year-old’s exciting talent.

In a tournament hampered by inclement weather, Mitchell fired a closing day 1-under-par 69 after a two-hour rain delay to finish the championship at 10-under-par. Mitchell’s three-stroke victory over Zack Sucher was his first major US amateur title and he later described today’s win as “my career highlight”, following earlier rounds of 62-66-73.

Mitchell was ranked 69th in the world entering this week’s Porter Cup, with his best major amateur performance T8 at the Northeast Amateur in 2007, although he’d won for the first time in 2004 when he shot a course-record 60 to claim the Bubba Conlee Junior Championship.

With Mitchell’s world ranking rocketing to 26th this week, his name is now etched alongside former Porter Cup winners including Ben Crenshaw, David Duval and Phil Mickelson. In its fifty-year history tournament organisers claim 11 Masters titles, 14 US Opens, 9 British Opens and 13 PGA Championships belong to former Porter Cup champions.

Matt Griffin was the best Australian at T13 following rounds of 74-68-71-68 to be 1-over-par with his opening 4-over-par 74, proving costly for the 2008 Rice Planters champion.

“The first round did all the damage,” said Griffin who celebrated his 25th birthday during the tournament.

Weather forced a long delay during the first round on Wednesday and washed out play on Thursday, forcing competitors to play a double round Friday. Weather delays are something many of the Australians have become accustomed to in the US this season and the Porter Cup was the second tournament in succession interrupted by weather for many of them, following last week’s rain-effected Southern Amateur.

“It was tough again out there today with the rain delays and the way the course was set up with some pin placements,” said Griffin. “I left between five to ten shots out there this tournament, my putting just wasn’t happening, but I still consider it overall as been a good result for me.”

Two strokes behind Griffin at 3-over-par and in T21 position were the next best Australians, Tim Stewart with rounds of 73-68-69-73 and Scott Arnold with rounds of 71-69-70-73.

For the remainder of the Australian contingent, the rain-interrupted Porter Cup will be remembered as a disappointing tournament.

Rohan Blizard was unable to get his game going despite coming off a wonderful achievement of qualifying for the British Open a few weeks earlier, firing 15-over-par to finish T67. Ray Beaufils was a stroke better at 14-over-par whilst Matt Jager, Josh Younger and Michael Foster all finished 11-over-par in T57.

Two of our most promising young talents Jason Scrivener and Matt Giles finished in the middle order of the field. Giles came in at 7-over-par and T43, whilst Scrivener ended his tournament at 10-over-par and in T54 position. Justin Roach who opened this week in impressive style with a 3-under-par 67 had a costly final day 10-over-par 80, to fall back to T52 position.

The majority of the Australasian contingent moves onto Point O’Woods Golf Club, Michigan, for one of the most prestigious amateur events on the US schedule the Western Amateur, which starts this Wednesday.

Tim Stewart has elected to miss the Western Amateur and is returning to Australia leaving Danny Lee, Matt Griffin, Rohan Blizard, Scott Arnold, James Gill, Josh Younger, Matt Giles and Jason Scrivener all part of the fifteen-odd challengers competing at the Western Amateur, ranked 2nd in world amateur tournaments.