Danny Lee earned his first career victory Sunday at the Greenbrier Classic.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — In six years, the Greenbrier Classic leaderboard has touched all corners of the planet, and this time the championship runs through New Zealand.
Danny Lee won the Classic on Sunday on the second hole in a four-way playoff over David Hearn, Robert Streb and Kevin Kisner. It was the third time the Classic winner has been determined via a playoff.
The 24-year-old Korean-born Lee becomes the fourth international champion in the Classic’s six years, following Australia’s Stuart Appleby, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera.
The 2008 U.S. Amateur champion became the Classic’s third first-time winner on the PGA Tour. He won a European Tour event as an amateur in 2009, when he was just 18.
He won $1.206 million, plus entry into the British Open in two weeks and the next Masters, a tournament he also played as an amateur in 2009.
His FedExCup points ranking shot up from 57th to 15th, and he likely will rise from 158th to inside the top 100 in the world rankings.
Not bad for someone who lost his tour card after his rookie 2012 season and had to get it back through the Web.com Tour.
“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…