Lee became the fourth international player in six years to win the championship.
To Kittleson's credit, he didn't fade when Lee built his sizable lead. After losing the 20th hole with a bogey, Kittleson won four of the next six holes to trim his deficit to 2 down and rally much of the 3,000-person crowd behind him. The highlight of the run came on the 25th hole, when Kittleson chipped in from 25 feet for an eagle.
"I'm proud of myself that I didn't [get frustrated while trailing]," he said. "I'm usually that guy who would not be happy about anything going good for anybody else."
After the two halved the 26th with birdies, Lee birdied the 27th and 28th to regain a 4-up advantage with eight holes remaining, ultimately setting up the winning birdie putt on the 32nd hole. "I feel like I'm in a dreamland," Lee said, "I really can't believe it."
Neither could Sim, who throughout the final match was pecking away on his Blackberry, text messaging Lee's parents in New Zealand with hole-by-hole updates despite the 16-hour time difference.
As interested as Lee's father, Sangjoo, was in the proceedings, his mother, So Jin Seo, had even more at stake. She got the family's oldest son involved in the game in the first place when she worked as a teaching pro at a driving range in South Korea. Waiting for his mom one day, a then 8-year-old Danny picked up a driver and starting hitting balls himself, displaying natural form. So Jin Seo encouraged him to keep playing after the family moved to New Zealand a year later, becoming his primary instructor.
Lee's game flourished back home, but to continue developing, he decided to travel to the U.S. to play a handful of events in 2006 and 2007. This summer, he added more tournaments to his schedule, posting top-10s at the Northeast Amateur, Dogwood Invitational and Porter Cup before his breakthrough victory at the Western pushed him to No. 1 on the R&A's World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Asked his favorite part about coming to the U.S., Lee quickly says "the cheeseburgers." His dry sense of humor belies a big heart, explaining how he made his way to Eugene CC to carry the bag for South Korea's Ha-Na Jang, a friend of Sim's, for one round during the U.S. Women's Amateur.
With spots in the field at next year's Masters, U.S. Open and British Open if he remains an amateur, Lee's plan to turn pro this fall has been scrapped, although trying PGA Tour Qualifying School as an amateur remains a possibility, says Sim. Lee also will compete for New Zealand at the World Team Amateur Championship in October in Australia, returning home this week for a training camp before finishing up his high school studies prior to next month's graduation.
"I went to Torrey Pines this year [for the U.S. Open], and it was so cool," Lee said, watching as a spectator after failing to qualify. "To think I'll be playing [in it] ... " Lee's voice trails off, leaving his mind to wander. At the start of his summer sojourn, it would have been hard to believe he would be there so quickly. Eleven weeks later, so much has happened. Better yet, so much is still to come.
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