John Deere Classic adds teenage phenom who isn't Michelle Wie

The John Deere Classic made an astute move recently, offering a sponsor's exemption to Danny Lee.

If you haven't heard of Lee, you almost surely will. He won the 2008 U.S. Amateur championship at 18 years and one month old, making him the youngest-ever winner of that prestigious event. The previous-youngest was one Tiger Woods.

Lee is a New Zealander who has bypassed college and gone right to the pros after playing this year's Masters, where he missed the 36-hole cut with rounds of 74 and 81.

He asserted himself at this month's PGA Tour Quail Hollow Championship, where he was 6-under-par and four shots behind third-round leader Zach Johnson after 54 holes. A 76 on Sunday left Lee tied for 38th place.

Lee won the PGA European Tour's Johnny Walker Classic in February, making him the youngest player ever to win a European Tour event.

"I can't compare to Tiger because he's the greatest player in the world, obviously," Lee said after that win.

"All I want to do is just break what he's done ... (and be) the next Tiger Woods."

That isn't exactly setting the bar low.

Woods, by the way, played the John Deere on a sponsor's exemption in 1996 not long after turning pro. He tied for fifth, and has never returned to the tournament.

This year's Deere, at TPC of Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., is July 9-12.

The Deere had two previous visits from another teen phenom of sorts, Michelle Wie, in 2005 and 2006. She failed to make the cut both times.