Kiwi Lee grabs International Presidents Cup berth

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[September 08, 2015]  (Reuters) - New Zealander Danny Lee scraped into the International team for the Presidents Cup despite a poor final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday.

Lee shot a closing 77 at TPC Boston to finish equal 33rd in the final PGA Tour event before the 10 automatic International qualifiers were locked in based on the latest world ranking.

Now it is up to International team captain Nick Price and his American counterpart, Jay Haas, to make their two wildcard selections on Tuesday to round out their line-ups for the biennial event, to be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon City, South Korea, Oct. 8-11.

Unless Price picks a South Korean, the event will take place without a player from the host nation, although Lee was born in the country before his family moved to New Zealand when he was eight.
 


Bill Haas was not among the automatic American qualifiers, finishing 11th in the standings, and must now rely on a pick by his father to get on the plane for Korea.

“I’m disappointed,” Bill Haas said after finishing tied for 60th at the Deutsche Bank.

“We all want to make that team. The way to do it, without relying on being a pick, is to earn your way. Unfortunately, I’ve fallen short. But I grinded hard this week and maybe my scores didn’t show it.

“It would be amazing to play for my Dad because it’s something we all talk about, making the Presidents Cup team or the Ryder Cup team. I wish I could make it less awkward, but I think it would be a great story to be the pick.”

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The American team automatic qualifiers are: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk.

The International automatic qualifiers are: Jason Day, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman (Australia), Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Anirban Lahiri (India), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Danny Lee (New Zealand).

(Reporting by Tim Wharnsby in Toronto. Editing by Andrew Both)

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