Reed rolling after switch to old driver
Patrick Reed is a confident — cocky? — young golfer still looking for his major breakthrough.
If the Texan keeps playing the way he has, it could come at this PGA Championship — with a quick turnaround to the Olympics as an emotional encore. Reed reached the tournament’s halfway point Friday at 5-under, within striking distance of the leaders and that elusive breakthrough Major win.
The 25-year-old Reed — who arrived at Baltusrol 14th in this week’s Official World Golf ranking, but has never finished better than 30th at the PGA Championship — rebounded from a shaky first nine holes with a brilliant round-and-a-half. After being 4-over through his first seven holes, Reed has played his last 29 in 9-under.
He adjusted to the course playing a lot longer than it had Thursday because of the rain, and switched from a heavier driver back to the lighter model he usually uses. The result was arguably the round of the day with a 5-under 65, making seven birdies against just two bogeys.
“I couldn’t time it, couldn’t keep it on the planet. I was just like, ‘You know what, I’m going back to my old one.’ Couldn’t get worse. I was 0-for-11 with driver [Thursday],’’ Reed said.
His final hole — No. 9 — was the exclamation point on his afternoon. After missing a short putt two holes earlier, his long blast with a 6-iron left him just a foot from the cup.
“Going into 9, knowing that you need to close off your round right, you don’t want to just limp in,’’ Reed said. “Hitting a quality shot like that is definitely good momentum.”
He is hoping to take good momentum to Rio, where the world’s top four golfers will skip the Olympics. After Dustin Johnson (and Jordan Spieth) pulled out of the competition for fear of the Zika virus. Reed had the same concerns. But after being reassured, he’s all-in to represent the U.S.
“Justine [Reed’s wife] was like, ‘All right, let’s golf.’ I already knew I wanted to go, and Justine wanted to go as well,’’ Reed said. “I can’t wait. It’s one of those things that just talking about it gives me goosebumps, because going over there, wearing stars and stripes, playing again, it’s going to be great.
“I can’t wait. It’s always an honor to play for your country, and to be able to go down to Rio and be part of the first year golf ’s been in it in forever means a lot. I’m excited, as excited as I can be.”