The 91st US PGA Championship takes place at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska Minnesota, this week. Lee's best finishes in this tournament were 15th in 2000, 16th in 1999 and 17th in 2005 but he missed the cut last year. However, Lee is coming to this final Major of the year with four top-ten finishes out of his last four events, in form, which he hopes to carry with him into this week's championship.
Lee was asked at the Preview, "You've been described recently as probably the best driver of the ball in the game at the moment. Are you a bit unhappy that it is generous off the tee here? " but Lee replied, " It's not overly generous, and I have been driving the ball well, whether that's down to the work I've been doing in the gym, or the PING driver that I've been using for a while. I got a new PING driver this week that seems even better, the i15.
Driving has always been a strong part in my game, and I plan to use that this week. Hit driver as often as possible, which will obviously help shortening the course a little bit.
I think there are about eight or nine drivers out there. There are certain holes that allow you to hit 3-wood, like the second with the dogleg, but if you wanted to, you could be aggressive and hit driver over the corner.
It's a good course in that regard in that it gives you options. And it's a good course with regard to the way that they can set it up. I think the PGA has options moving tees around. I don't think we'll have to play 12 right off the back if they don't want to. Yesterday that was ... well, for me, driver, 4-iron, and I played with Rory and Darren. I was longer than them off the tee and I was going in with 4-iron.
I watched Sergio when I was coming down the 15th playing that hole, and he must have been hitting 4-iron in as well. So if the longer hitters are hitting 4-iron in there, some people are going to be going in there with a wood, which that green is probably not meant for a wood. So they will probably shift that tee around a little bit, and maybe the next, the par 3, and even the one after that, the 14th, drivable, occasionally".
When asked how important - in terms of momentum - was last Sunday's round, and that week, on a tough course at Firestone, Lee replied, "Very important. I mean, I hit it pretty good -- well, very good tee-to-green most of the week. Gave myself a lot of birdie chances and my proximity to the hole stats were, I think after two or three rounds, were sort of ... well, I think after two rounds was 20 feet. Well, that's an amazing stat, really, when you think about it, and then it went to about 26 and then I got it down to about 25 after four rounds.
That's how close I was hitting it regularly, and I didn't make enough putts the second and third days. I had loads of chances, and then just rolled a couple of 10, 15-footers in the last day and that has given me impetus and momentum coming into this week. Because you can play well and finish 27th, 28th being level par the last round and won't really do you that much good. But if you shoot 65 and finish ninth, it's obviously a big difference mentally, as well.
But for a couple of putts here and there, I might be sitting here with six wins since The Belfry two years ago. It's a very fickle game. And all you can do is keep repeating the same process, and the one that you think is going to improve you, and eventually, you just have to wait for things to turn around... not panic".
Lee is grouped with Fred Couples and Spain's Alvaro Quiros, with a first round tee-time from the 10th at 8.45.
Lee carded two birdies and two bogeys on the outward nine but picked up birdies at 5 and 7 to go 2-under for the day (70) and finish T9th on the leaderboard, just three strokes behind the leader, Tiger Woods.
"70 was a decent start. It could have been a little bit better. I struggled a little bit to get things going. The only hole I played poorly was when I hit a great shot down on 16 off the tee and completely duffed a sand iron and walked off with five. That was the only disappointing part of the day, but I played really controlled golf the rest of the time".
With a 1.55 tee-time from the 1st on Friday, Lee was 2-over and back to even for the event at the 8th hole. He then picked up a hattrick of birdies from the 9th and added a further birdie at 13 to go 4-under par. Going into the par 3, 17th he was in third place but his tee-shot bounced off to the right and into the greenside bunker. He made a brilliant bunker shot to within three feet of the cup but the ball ran round the lip, leaving him another three-footer for bogey, which he again missed and had to settle for a double-bogey. Back to two-under, Lee had a birdie chance, but it wasn't to be. Recording a 72, Lee ended the day in T7th spot.
"I was playing well, but I was 2-over to 8 and it was difficult. The wind was blowing really hard. It was difficult to get it close to the flag. Once you got it close to the flag as I did on the 5th hole, hit it to about three feet and missed it. The putts are moving about all over the place and doing strange things. It's a difficult day on the golf course", Lee said.
"Im a little bit disappointed to make 5 at 17. The greens get tricky at the end of the day and you dribble it and take a chance or bash it and take a chance. I just bashed that one. I got a big lip out of the second one!"
He had a 1.13 start with Ian Poulter on Saturday and shot a round of 73, ending the third round in T13th place on 1-under par.
"I played all right", Lee said later. "I played a little bit better than 73. A little unlucky on 8 with the wind switch. Made double there". And regarding the weather conditions? " It was tricky, but there was a score still out there. A little easier than yesterday a little harder than the first day, probably".
He had a 12.33 tee-time with Steve Flesch for the final round. Four birdies and two bogeys lead to a final round of 70. Three-under for the event earned Lee T3rd place on the leaderboard alongside Rory McIlroy, earning €303,573.80 in prize money. Yong-eun Yang of South Korea, was winner of the 91st USPGA on 8-under par
"It's all positives and I've been playing well for some time now. Obviously if I can keep giving myself chances in majors, it shows my game is improving to a high enough standard.
I'm delighted. I've come back from what could have been a slight disappointment at the Open, not winning there, and here looks like I'm finishing Top-5 at least. It's just forward progress all the time and can't wait for next April".
Lee,who now takes a two-week break, is now 9th in World Ranking and 4th in the Race to Dubai with €1,617,552
