The Zurich Classic: Most Intriguing Stories of the Week

The PGA Tour will head down to the big easy this week for the Zurich Classic at the TPC Louisiana.

Here are the most intriguing stories of the week.

Danny Lee

Last August, at 18 years old Danny Lee became the youngest player to have ever won the U.S. Amateur title.

Lee’s win at the U.S Amateur secured him an invitation to the 2009 Masters where, understandably, the teenage phenom appeared overwhelmed by the intense media scrutiny surrounding both him personally and the year’s first major championship.

Lee, who was born in South Korea but has called New Zealand home since the age of eight, decided to take the plunge and officially turned professional just days after missing the cut at the 2009 Masters.

Lee has already won a European Tour event earlier this year as an Amateur, but this week’s Zurich Classic will mark his professional debut.

On the back of his first major sponsorship deal, which he signed earlier this week with Callaway, Lee will be playing  Callaway clubs and balls and will sport the company’s logo on his bag.

Lee has obviously had an extremely accomplished amateur career, but this week and in the coming weeks and months we will get our first glimpse into whether or not he and his game are mature enough to make an immediate impact on the PGA Tour.

Todd Hamilton

After winning the 2004 British Open at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, Todd Hamilton promptly disappeared and did not re-emerge again until the 2009 Masters.

Prior to the 2009 Masters, which Hamilton only gained entry into through a five-year exemption he earned for winning the 2004 British Open, Hamilton had finished within the top-10 in just one PGATour event over the past five years.

Since 2004, Hamilton has managed to make the cut in just 43 percent of the tournaments he has entered.

Then, similar to what happened at Troon back in 2004, Hamilton’s name once again came out of nowhere to appear near the top of the leaderboard at the 2009 Masters.

Hamilton wound up finishing tied for 15th at the Masters two weeks ago and then came back strong again last week with a top-five finish at the Verizon Heritage.

Hamilton is in the last year of the five-year exemption he earned by winning the 2004 British Open, so he’s facing a scenario where he either makes a lot of money in 2009 or finds himself back at Q-School, which would complete one of the fastest and furthest falls from grace seen on the PGA Tour in recent years.

Hamilton will be looking to build upon his recent success at this week’s Zurich Classic. 

Kenny Perry

Unless Perry happens to win a major championship in the coming years, he will unfortunately be remembered most for his improbable meltdown at the 2009 Masters.

Perry walked to the 17th tee with a two-stroke lead and had just come off a tap-in birdie on the 16th which was a result of what he would later call the shot of his career.

The major championship pressure visibly took hold of Perry on the 17th hole. Perry, who is widely regarded as one of the best iron players in the world, literally forgot how to hit his short irons down the stretch at the Masters.

Perry missed the green with short irons on four consecutive holes and was eventually defeated by Angel Cabrera on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.

We’ve seen this type of thing before and we will surely see it again.

But, what made Perry’s late Sunday afternoon meltdown at Augusta particularly difficult to watch was the way in which it was drawn out over the course of four consecutive holes, and it happened to a man that could only be described as one of the nicest men you will ever meet in the game of golf, or anywhere for that matter.

Perry has always been a proud man, not to mention an exceptional golfer. So, don’t think for one moment that you will see Perry walking around the TPC Louisiana this week with his head down or displaying any remnants of anger and bitterness left over from the Masters.

There are few players on the PGA Tour playing better golf than Kenny Perry has over the past nine months, so, don’t be surprised if Perry immediately redeems himself with a win at this week’s Zurich Classic.