Reed tops sloppy Spieth in Match Play

AUSTIN, Texas — One shot into the match, Jordan Spieth already was in a golf cart being driven back to the tee.

It took three holes before Patrick Reed had to putt.

The most anticipated match turned sloppy Friday when Spieth hit one shot out of bounds, two shots into a hazard and three times gave away a chance to win the hole by three-putting.

And right when it looked as though Spieth still might have a chance, Reed buried him with a 40-foot birdie putt from behind the 17th green for a 2-and-1 victory in the Dell Technologies Match Play that sent Reed into the weekend and Spieth searching for answers.

Reed was tough enough when it mattered. He seized control with the prettiest shot of the match, a knockdown wedge into the wind that grazed the front edge of the cup on the 13th for a 2-up lead. He ended it with a putt that looked as though it might go 8 feet by until the hole got in the way.

Reed is among 16 players who won their group Friday at Austin Country Club and advanced to single-elimination on the weekend, all of them four matches away from a World

Golf Championships title.

That group includes Justin Thomas, at No. 2 the top seed left, who can go to No. 1 in the world by winning.

It doesn’t include Dustin Johnson, the defending champion who played so poorly that none of the three matches he lost made it to the 18th hole.

Johnson left the gallery with one parting shot, a 489-yard drive that would be the longest in PGA Tour history except that stats from Match Play are not official.

At Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo shot 10-over 82 to miss the cut and finish last in the 132-man field in the Corales Puntacana Resort Championship. Leader Brice Garnett followed his opening 63 with a 68 to get to 13-under 131.

At Carlsbad, Calif.,

Cristie Kerr played bogey-free for a second straight round, shooting 8-under 64 for a 13-under 131 total and a five-stroke Kia Classic lead. Lizette Salas (67), In-kyung Kim (69), Hee Young Park (70) and Caroline Hedwall (70) were tied for second.

At Biloxi, Miss., Joe Durant ran off three straight backnine birdies and shot a 6-under 66 to take the first-round lead in the Rapiscan Systems Classic. Mark Calcavecchia was one stroke back, and Steve Stricker was third at 68.

PGA: LPGA: Champions: