Lee to Leave Texas, Turn Professional

Golfer Jenny Lee has decided to leave the University of Texas and turn pro, Longhorn Coach Susan Watkins said Wednesday.

Lee, from Sunny Hills High, competed in only five tournaments last year for Texas. Her best finish was a tie for 13th.

Watkins said Lee had trouble balancing time on the golf course with academics and has been wrestling with the decision to leave since the end of the 1996 college season.

Lee was selected to The Times all-county second team as a junior and senior. In her junior year, she led Sunny Hills to the Southern Section team title and won the CIF-Southern California Golf Assn. girls’ individual championship.

Lee reached the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur this month.