Lee scrambles his way to 64

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Short and crooked is supposed to be no way to play Bethpage Black. Danny Lee was both on Thursday but shot 64 to provide the best challenge to Brooks Koepka’s 63 that overshadowed the first day of the PGA Championship.

Koepka’s lead was once up to four shots, an unfathomable advantage for the first round of any tournament. Now Koepka will start Friday with a slim one-shot lead, but still hold a sizable advantage over the rest of the field. Tommy Fleetwood was in third place after shooting 67, and fewer than 20 players were within a half-dozen strokes of Koepka.

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Booming drives have been key to Kopeka’s success in major championships. Lee struggled off the tee Thursday but compensated with stellar iron play and a keen short-game. He hit just half the fairways while averaging 289 yards off the tee. That combination put him near the bottom of the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee.

Earlier in the week, it would have been hard to imagine a player even breaking par with such a performance off the tee. The rough at Bethpage Black is so thick that players are struggling even to hit mid-irons out of it. Most stray tee shots are followed by nothing more than a wedge back to the fairway.

Lee hit just 10 greens Thursday, but six of those approaches stopped within 10 feet of the hole. He made all 10 putts he faced from 4-8 feet, as well. That’s how he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting despite not making a putt outside 15 feet. His 21 putts were the fewest in a round in his PGA TOUR career. He made just two bogeys despite missing eight greens.

“Whenever I hit on the fairway, I was able to convert that to birdie,” Lee said. “I think I made a lot of good up-and-downs, even when I missed the fairway.”

His success comes just days after his fellow George Gankas student, Sung Kang, won the AT&T Byron Nelson. Gankas is known for helping his students gain clubhead speed. Lee may have struggled from the tee Thursday, but that increased speed has been important. Four years ago, he ranked 145th on TOUR in driving distance. He’s 48th this year.

“I've always been trying to make my swing on the perfect plane every time, and he definitely broke that mindset of mine,” Lee said. “Your club doesn't have to be traveling on your perfect path every time to hit the ball in the fairway, and that was a huge learning progress for me.”

The one-time phenom, who broke Tiger Woods’ record for the youngest U.S. Amateur champion, has won just once on TOUR. He also played on the 2015 Presidents Cup team. He was 18 years old when he won on the European Tour as an amateur but struggled for several years after tinkering with his swing. He hopes that this latest method may be the key to success. He’s been working with Gankas for approximately 18 months.

“Now I'm definitely hitting it further. I can carry my driver about 290, 295 in the air. That's a huge bonus for me,” said Lee, who ranks 53rd in the FedExCup. “And this was actually the first time I got to play in a major with this distance. I'm actually interested in myself what I can do out there this week.”

Three rounds remain, but he’s in good shape thus far.