Last week, the golf corners of social media lit up when New Zealand pro Danny Lee was spotted grinding on the range mats of the municipal Rancho Park Golf Course only hours after a poor opening round at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Lee could have used the manicured turf practice fairway at Riviera to work on his swing, but chose the muny where Jack Nicklaus cashed his first check as a pro in 1962.
Thanks to a career-low 62 in the third round, the 24-year-old won in style by using a borrowed driver from fellow tour pro James Hahn on the eve of the tournament after his own driver broke into pieces after a friendly mishap.
Lee, 27, made 22 starts on the PGA Tour last season and finished 45th in the FedEx Cup. He is not in this week’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship field.
Kuchar switched last week from Bridgestone’s Tour B XS (a ball he had played since its debut more than a year ago) to the Tour B X, a lower-spinning version.
While the win feels a little out of left field considering Kuchar finished in a tie for 57th at the Shriners event last week, it didn’t feel that way for him.