Patrick Reed, better known for his world-beating exploits in the Ryder Cup, will carry a two-shot advantage over Marc Leishman into the weekend at The Masters.
Competing for his country with any significant cup on the line, Patrick Reed is an absolute world-beater, thumping his chest, pumping his fist and showing off a complete game that at times seems absolutely unbeatable.
When Reed is clad in red, white and blue, he’s Popeye with two cans of spinach.
But to this point in his career, Reed as a major championship competitor has been mostly a non-factor. He failed to crack the top 10 until his 16th start in a major, at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where he tied for second. Perhaps that was the catalyst for him to contend more in the biggest tournaments.
At Augusta National, less than a mile as the crow flies from where Reed helped lead tiny Augusta University (formerly Augusta State) to a pair of NCAA Division I championships, Reed has put himself in position to make history at the 82nd Masters. As many players in the 87-man field struggled just to hold ground, Reed soared. He made nine birdies – going on a trio of three-birdie sprints – in shooting six-under 66, seizing the 36-hole lead at nine-under 135. He leads Australia’s Marc Leishman (70-67) by two strokes.
Beneath late afternoon shadows, a few players in addition to Reed also positioned themselves well heading into the weekend.
Leishman might have been considered an ‘extra’ when the groupings were released on Tuesday. He was grouped with the four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, but the Australian has played brilliantly over two days. A runner-up at the 2015 Open Championship, Leishman will play alongside Reed on Saturday in the final pairing.
On a day when the scoring average was 75.563, Reed’s 66 stood tall as the best round of the day.
‘Under these conditions? That’s impressive,’ said Woods, who struggled with his iron play and shot three-over 75. He made the cut in his first major since the 2015 PGA Championship but is 13 shots behind. Three-time champion Phil Mickelson struggled mightily on Friday with a 79, and at five-over 149 made the cut on the number. Fifty-three competitors are scheduled to play on the weekend. (Sergio Garcia, defending champion, shot 81-78, and missed the cut for only the second time since 2008.)
Woods and Reed have more in common than wearing red on Sundays. They are intense competitors who have forged a bond through Woods’ involvement in the last few Ryder and Presidents Cups as a captain’s assistant.
‘We all know the kind of talent he is,’ Woods said of Reed. ‘Just a beautiful putter, just a great combo for this golf course.’
Playing late, Reed used his morning to view television coverage of the Tournament early in the day while his peers were struggling in tricky, swirling winds. Birdies were difficult to attain. And then Reed, whose best finish in four starts at the Masters is a tie for 22nd, went out and made nine. His first, at the demanding par-four 1st, was his favourite.
Reed has been troubled with that opening tee shot, frequently hitting driver into the left trees or the second cut. But his wife, Justine, talked her husband into hitting 3-wood off the tee, and being in the fairway today allowed him to work an approach to 26 feet from the front hole location. When Reed buried the putt and headed to the par-five 2nd, which was playing in favourable wind, he was off and running.
‘To be able to get off to three-under through three, you know, couldn’t really have built my confidence any higher than that,’ Reed said.
Reed used to get to play Augusta National annually with his college team, and feels that although his first four Masters visits have not been very fruitful, they’ve eased him along the learning curve.
There are players who want to win Majors and players who believe they can. Patrick Reed is squarely in the latter camp.
‘Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them,’ Reed said. ‘I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, that I can win Majors.’
At Augusta National, he is halfway home.
Credit: Masters website
