Danny Lee Within 5 in Minnesota While Ryan Fox Stumbles in Newcastle

Ryan Fox & Danny Lee (getty)
Ryan Fox & Danny Lee (getty)

New Zealand’s two top-ranked professionals battled it out on opposite sides of the northern hemisphere overnight with one making moves and the other faltering.

The strangest parallel is that if COVID-19 had not happened, these Danny Lee and Ryan Fox would most likely be together today in Tokyo preparing for the Olympic Games golf tournament which was to start on July 30.

On the PGA Tour in Maine Minnesota, USA, Danny Lee shot a 3-under 68 to go with his 67 in the opening round and sits 5 shots behind the leaders heading into the weekend of the 3M Open.

Lee, who turned 30 today, had 3 birdies and a bogey in the first four holes of his round finishing his day tied for 12th at 7 under; Michael Thompson and Richy Werenski are tied for 1st at 12-under while Tony Finau and Talor Gooch are tied for 3rd at 11 under.

Over in the British Masters, Ryan Fox shrugged off a horror start to the day where he had 3 bogeys and a birdie in the first 5 holes before finishing even par with the course on 71 shots, on a day when the leaders picked up the pace and shot well under par.

Fox was only 3 shots behind the leaders after day two but with a round to go, he’s now 8 shots down and seemingly out of contention in the first of his return tournaments to the European Tour.

Italian Renato Paratore stayed bogey-free through 54 holes as he established a one-shot lead at 16-under heading into the final round. South African Justin Harding was his nearest challenger after also carding a 66, one clear of Dane Rasmus Højgaard, who also got round in five under.

Danny Lee and Ryan Fox
Danny Lee and Ryan Fox with their Olympic golf bags during a practice round at Olympic Golf Course on August 8, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Other Results

Kiwi Tim Wilkinson is tied for 38th at 3-under in Maine with two round to play.

Michael Campbell missed the cut in Newcastle after shooting an 80 on day two.

Nick Voke is tied for 40th at 5-under, 9 shots from the lead, in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Springfield Missouri with two days to play.

Steven Alker is tied for 54th in the same Korn Ferry event at 4-under.

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