Lee has been anointed the people's favourite for the $1.2 million Open starting at The Hills today.
The Korean-born 18-year-old plays his last event in New Zealand as an amateur and is expected to attract massive galleries before he heads to the United States to play in the Masters and then turn professional.
Lee is a charismatic figure with a golf game to match.
He tied for seventh at last week's New Zealand PGA at Clearwater and had a stunning win in the Johnnie Walker Classic two weeks before that.
He also made the cut when the Open was played at The Hills in late 2007, winning the Bledisloe Cup for leading amateur with an even-par four-round total of 288.
The youngest player in the field gives away 54 years to the oldest, 72-year-old New Zealand great Sir Bob Charles.
The dream Charles-Lee pairing hasn't happened, but Charles appreciates what the new kid on the block has achieved.
"I think it's fantastic," Charles said yesterday.
"As an 18-year-old, he is better than Tiger Woods was at that age. There's a parallel there.
"He's got a wonderful future ahead of him."
No New Zealand golfer has won his home Open since Dunedin's Mahal Pearce claimed the title at Middlemore in 2003.
This time, it would be a surprise if there was not at least one New Zealander challenging at the right end of the leaderboard on Sunday.
Steve Alker, David Smail, Gareth Paddison and Josh Geary shape as the most promising quartet.
Alker won the New Zealand PGA at Clearwater last week, his ninth win at the professional level.
Right behind him were Smail, the lean and experienced tactician, and Geary, the baby-faced assassin who was the leading New Zealander at The Hills last time and has qualified for the British Open.
Paddison could be worth a look.
He has experience of playing well at The Hills and he has four consecutive top-20 finishes on the Australasian Tour this year.
No American has won the New Zealand Open since Corey Pavin won the second of his back-to-back titles at Russley in 1985.
But the change in Open co-sanctioning, from the European Tour to the PGA's second-tier Nationwide Tour, means there are now dozens of top US golfers in the field.
Some have even won on the PGA Tour, like Jim McGovern and Len Mattiace.
Vance Veazey has two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour and has won the four Nationwide events, including this year's opening tournament in Panama, while Skip Kendall has played nearly 400 PGA Tour events and has career earnings of $16 million.
The younger American brigade is led by Daniel Summerhays, who became the first amateur to win a Nationwide event two years ago, rookie Joseph Sykora, who writes a blog for the PGA website, Drew Laning and JJ Killeen.
Summerhays, who spent two years in Chile on a mission for the Mormon church, said he was impressed by The Hills.
"It's a beautiful layout and I'm really excited about playing it," Summerhays said.
"The game is still the same. You've got to hit fairways, get up and down and make a lot of putts to win."
He said it reminded him of some courses he had played in Park City, in his home state of Utah.
"I think this is a course where you need to get a feel for it and try a little harder to feel comfortable on. Some of the bunkers that are 230 yards out look 280."
Finally, of course, there are the Australians.
Three of the past six New Zealand Opens have been won by golfers from across the Tasman, and Australians hold all the tournament scoring records.
The usual suspects are back, veterans like Craig Parry and the three Peters - Senior, Fowler and O'Malley.
But the real focus from an Australian perspective is on the rising talents of Michael Sim, rated by every expert as the next big thing, Moonah Classic champion Alistair Presnell and the in-form Andre Stolz.
The concern in the back of the minds of all the golfers, regardless from where they hail from, is the weather.
The Hills has been soaked, buffeted and snap-chilled over the past 48 hours, and with more rough weather forecast for today, scores could be high.
