Reed holds off Day at the top

– Patrick Reed (above) gave his Ryder Cup hopes a timely boost as he charged into a share of the first-round lead at The Barclays on Thursday with defending champion Jason Day in hot pursuit, two strokes back.

American Reed opened with a sizzling five-under-par 66 in the first of the PGA Tour’s four lucrative FedExCup play-off events, finishing level with Scotland’s Martin Laird on a sunny but breezy day at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.

World No 1 Day, who triumphed by six shots last year when the tournament was held at Plainfield Country Club, returned a 68 while fellow golfing heavyweights Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy carded 71s.

“It was a clean day,” Reed, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, told reporters after a bogey-free round that also included an eagle and three birdies. “I feel like I hit the ball pretty solid.

“All the shots I hit, even though they might not have been down some of the lines I wanted to, I was still in the fairway and still on the greens.”

Day, the game’s hottest player over the past year with seven tournament wins in his last 23 starts, was relatively happy with a return of four birdies and a lone bogey in his first competitive round in nearly a month.

“Overall, I felt great about how I felt like I played,” said the 28-yearold Australian.

British Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden pulled out after shooting a three-over 74, citing a knee injury. –