After battling physical problems, Vienna resident has game on track
A four-year bout with gout derailed the golf career of Jun Hak Lee. But the 24-year-old from Vienna is making up for lost time.
Thursday in the first round of the Melwood Prince George’s County Open, Lee shot a 1-under-par 70. Of seven locals in the Nationwide Tour event at the University of Maryland Golf Course, Lee was the only player who broke par.
Other locals in the field were David Hutsell of Baltimore (72), Billy Hurley III of Annapolis (73), David Bradshaw of Harpers Ferry (73), Chris McCartin of Arlington (74), Brendan McGrath of Centreville (74), and John O’Leary of Chantilly (76).
Hutsell is a teaching pro at Elkridge Country Club. Bradshaw, a 28-year-old former standout at Shepherd, is a five-time winner of the West Virginia Open. McCartin, a former player at Yorktown and Wake Forest, is a mini-tour player in his first Nationwide event. McGrath, an Annandale grad who didn’t take up golf until after college, is director of instruction at Chantilly National. O’Leary runs a golf instruction academy out of Pleasant Valley Golf Club.
Lee, in the last group of the day at No. 18, rolled in a downhill 10-foot putt for birdie to get under par.
“I should have shot better than one-under,” Lee said. “I’m not happy, but I’m okay.”
This is the second Nationwide Tour event for Lee. In April, he Monday qualified into the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae. In the second round, Lee shot 65, but missed the cut by a stroke.
Lee has an unusual background. As a kid, he wasn’t a member of a private club and didn’t play golf at Langley High, taking the advice of his coach, who told him to only play junior events. Lee turned pro in 2006, but then was felled by gout.
“My doctor said I had too much beef,” Lee said. “I’m a vegetarian now.”
Lee will need his strength over the next few days, especially if he makes the cut at the Melwood. He plays 36 holes Monday in the U.S. Open Sectional qualifier at Woodmont.
McCartin was disappointed with his round. He came in with high expectations after winning the Samanah Classic in Morocco in March. McCartin is fourth on the Charlotte-based eGolf Tour money list, making $41,688 this year.
