Lee wins perhaps final Western Amateur in Michigan

BENTON HARBOR – New Zealand’s Danny Lee delivered a pair of 4 and 2 match-play wins to claim the 2008 Western Amateur Championship at Point O’Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor Aug. 3, ending an era of the “Masters” of amateur golf coming to Michigan. Lee became the first winner since Bubba Dickerson in 2001 to take both medalist and match play honors, joining an elite group of dual winners that includes Phil Mickelson (1991), Scott Verplank (1985), Curtis Strange (1974) and Ben Crenshaw (1973). “This is a huge event,” said Lee, 18, of Rotorua, New Zealand. “It gives me so much confidence. This is the first time I played really well in the United States. It’s special. It’s the biggest win of my life.” Lee beat UCLA’s Erik Flores in the championship match.

Before the tournament, it was announced that the event, held at Point O’ Woods since 1971, would move to seven Chicago-area  clubs in the coming years, including: Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest (2009), Skokie Country Club in Glencoe (2010), North Shore Country Club in Glenview (2011), Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park (2012), Olympia Fields Country Club’s South Course in Olympia Fields (2013), The Beverly Country Club in Chicago (2014) and the Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove (2015).