Lee’s driving and Kozuma’s putting perk up the Iron Heads

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Iron Heads put together a vastly improved performance at LIV Golf Greenbrier, with all 12 rounds played in par or better as they finished 7th and inside the points for the fourth time this season.

The highest round for Iron Heads was Captain Kevin Na’s even-par 70 on Friday, while Scott Vincent (Friday) and Danny Lee’s 65s on Sunday were the two best rounds as they finished with 31-under par total.

Lee, who is showing sure signs of a turnaround in his form, ditched distance for accuracy off the tee and was rewarded with a tied 15th place at 11-under par. The Las Vegas-based New Zealander had been complaining of issues with his driving, but did well to be tied 4th for driving accuracy, finding 32 fairways during the week.

His scores got progressively better with a 68 and 66, and he saved the best for the last, a round of 65 that included four straight birdies from the 10th to 13th holes. Also, importantly, he made only three bogeys during the tournament.

If Lee was firing from the tees, Jinichiro Kozuma was absolutely stunning with the putter as he completed his three rounds with just 79 putts and led the Total Putts stat category. The only disappointment for the Japanese star was two successive bogeys on holes 10 and 11, after he had gone 5-under through his first 10 holes.

Kozuma finished tied 20th at 10-under par total.

The heartbreak of the week was for Vincent, who continued to play well, but was punished by two double bogeys – one came early in his third hole on Friday (par-3 8th), and the other came on his eighth hole on Sunday on the par-4 6th, much against the run of play as he had made birdies in the previous two holes.

Those two doubles pushed Vincent just outside the points at tied 25th place on 9-under par, which means he remains in the Drop Zone in 49th place going into the final regular season event in Chicago.

Iron Heads stayed in 13th place in the Team Standings, while Lee improved to 36th place in Individuals with 24.2 points. He remains the second-best Iron Heads player this season, with Captain Na in 32nd place at 30.62 points.

STAT REVIEW

Field ranking in parentheses

Fairways Hit
Lee – 32 (T4)
Kozuma – 30 (T8)
Vincent – 28 (T16)
Na – 26 (T24)

Driving Distance Avg.
Lee – 303.9 (48)
Kozuma – 314.3 (33)
Vincent – 322.9 (T21)
Na – 289.1 (54)

Greens in Regulation
Lee – 41 (T25)
Kozuma – 36 (T5)
Vincent – 47 (T1)
Na – 37 (T46)

Total Putts
Lee – 85 (T17)
Kozuma –79 (1)
Vincent – 91 (T47)
Na – 86 (T21)

Total Birdies
Lee – 14 (T19)
Kozuma – 14 (T19)
Vincent – 17 (T7)
Na – 10 (T44)