Reed dodges controversy to share lead at San Diego

San Antonio native Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He also had share of the lead with Carlos Ortiz.

On the par-4 10th, Reed hit a 190-yard shot out of a bunker with a TV replay showing the ball bounced once before settling into the rough. Believing the ball didn’t bounce, Reed picked it up to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a volunteer, saw it bounce.

Reed was awarded a free drop and saved par. He bogeyed four of the next holes before birdieing No. 18 for a 2-under 70 and a share of the lead with Ortiz at 10 under. Ortiz had a 66 on the South Course.

In December 2019 in Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Reed was penalized two strokes for appearing to deliberately improve his lie in a bunker.

“It’s an unfortunate situation obviously, but at the end of the day when you finish a round and the head rules official comes up to you and has the video and shows everything that went down to the whole group and says that you’ve done this perfectly, you did this the exact right way, the protocols you did were spot on, at that point, you know, I feel great about it,” Reed said.

“The ball just disappeared. None of us saw it bounce,” said Reed, who added that a nearby volunteer told him that it did not bounce. “I looked at my group and said, ‘Guys, she didn’t see it bounce it, either, so I’m going to mark this ball and see if it’s embedded.’

“Once I marked it, the first thing I wanted to do was make sure I got the ball out of my hand because you don’t want to clean it or anything because you don’t know if it’s embedded yet. When I put my finger down there and felt like it has broken ground, the first thing you do is call the rules official. … The rules official said, ‘Yes, this ball has broken the plane.’“

PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett said Reed “did all the things we ask to do of a player. It’s obviously difficult and you get to second-guessing when see video; soft conditions, there’s a lot of variables out there.”

The incident on 10 overshadowed Reed’s eagle on the par-5 sixth.

Sam Burns (70), Lanto Griffin (72), Viktor Hovland (73), Jon Rahm (72) and Adam Scott (72) were two shots back at 8 under.

Rory McIlroy (70) was in a group of four at 7 under.

Casey leads Dubai Classic: Paul Casey hit a 3-iron to 10 feet and holed the eagle putt to complete a bogey-free 8-under 64 in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday, giving the Englishman a one-stroke lead as he seeks a 15th win on the European Tour.

Cardinals dealing for 3B Arenado

A person familiar with the swap told the Associated Press late Friday that the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to acquire All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies in a trade needing approvals before it can be finalized.

Arenado, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, signed a $260 million, eight-year deal with Colorado in February 2019. Colorado would pay St. Louis a large amount of cash as part of the trade.

Phillies sign Gregorius: The Phillies signed shortstop Didi Gregorius to a two-year contract worth $28 million.

Cubs, Williams agree on one-year deal: Righthander Trevor Williams agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, giving the NL Central champions another option for the back end of their rotation.