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Danny Lee remains in the middle of the group in the BMW Championship.
Kiwi golfer Danny Lee’s hopes of appearing in the PGA Tour FedEx Cup final are still alive.
Needing a grand finale in this week’s second and penultimate playoff event, the BMW Championship in Illinois, Lee improved slightly in his second round on Saturday (New Zealand time), but remains half a dozen shots off the beat.
The top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings advance to next week’s Tour Championship in Georgia, and Lee entered this week 42nd in the standings.
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Danny Lee gets to work on the first hole of his second round on Saturday (New Zealand time).
Live screenings have Lee move from No. 42 to No. 45 if the tournament ended now, so he needs a great weekend, on a tough field at Olympia Fields that is beating most of the players. Only joint leaders are below par.
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After opening 73 of three over to be six shots behind in a tie for 35th in the field of 69 players, Lee was slightly better in his second outing, shooting 72 of two over 72.
His day did not bode well when he found the bunker in his starting hole and registered a ghost. However, while there were more bogeys at 7, 12 and 6, Lee at least mixed birdies at 3:15.
He left it at five more, in a nine-way tie for 30, still six shots from the leader, which is shared by Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and American Patrick Cantlay, at one low.
The last time someone won over par was two years ago at the US Open in Shinnecock Hills (Brooks Koepka’s one-over), while for non-majors, the over-pair has not won since Bruce Lietzke in the Byron Nelson Classic in 1981.
It’s a stark contrast to last week, where Dustin Johnson won the inaugural FedEx Cup Playoffs event, The Northern Trust, by 11 shots at a whopping 30 under par.
Meanwhile, fellow New Zealander Ryan Fox was enjoying a better time at the European Tour UK Championship at The Belfry in Warwickshire.
After an under-par opening round to tie for 35th, seven shots off the beat, Fox shot a flawless 67 on Saturday (New Zealand time), which was the best round of the day.
He saw the 33-year-old fly to a four-way tie for fourth at six under par, now three shots behind the leader, at the hands of South African Justin Walters.
