Reed, Rory light up Masters
AUGUSTA: This would have been the tastiest battle of the Ryder Cup in Paris later this year. But the golfing God seems to be smiling early on the fans as American Patrick Reed and Northern Ireland’s Rory Mcilroy moved into what should be a mano-a-mano contest for the Green Jacket after Saturday’s third round.
The 27-year-old Reed continued his sizzling form at Augusta National, making two eagles in the space of three holes – on the 13th and 15th holes – in his round of five-under par 67.
That took him to 14-under par total, three shots ahead of Mcilroy, who carded a stunning seven-under par 65 on a day when incessant rains softened the course thus making the conditions easier than the previous two rounds. Reed is looking for his first major title, while Mcilroy has four, but a Masters win will give him a career grand slam. The 29-year-old world No 7 had come agonisingly close to making the 2011 Masters his first major victory before a heart-breaking meltdown on the back nine on Sunday.
American Rickie Fowler and Spain’s Jon Rahm, also looking for their first major wins, matched Mcilroy’s 65 to become the closest threat to the duo on nine-under and eight-under par respectively.
The mind games between Reed and Mcilroy have already started. Both insisted that the pressure will be on the other player. After his round, Mcilroy said: “I’m really excited to go out there tomorrow and show everyone what I’ve got, show Patrick what I’ve got. All the pressure’s on him… I’m hoping to come in and spoil the party.
Mcilroy was leading by four shots going into the back nine in 2011 when he made a triple bogey on the 10th hole after hooking his tee shot. He just could not come back after that.
202 - Patrick Reed (USA) 69-66-67; 205 - Rory Mcilroy (NIR) 69-71-65; 207 - Rickie Fowler (USA) 70-72-65; 208 - Jon Rahm (ESP) 75-68-65; 209 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 69-70-70; 210 - Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 72-72-66, Bubba Watson (USA) 73-69-68, Marc Leishman (AUS) 70-67-73