Reed gets sweet relief with victory
Day after rules controversy, ex-Masters champ claims title
Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a five-shot victory Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Reed closed with a 4-under 68 at Torrey Pines, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th.
The former Masters champions finished at 14 under after a consistent four days at the blufftop municipal courses in San Diego overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He shared the first-round lead with Alex Noren, was in a group one shot off the lead in the second round and then shared the third-round lead with Carlos Ortiz.
The controversy arose Saturday on the par-4 10th when Reed hit a 190-yard shot out of a bunker with a TV replay showing the ball bounced once before settling into the rough. Without waiting for an official, Reed picked up the ball to see if it was embedded. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. He was awarded a free drop and saved par in a round of 70.
On Sunday, Reed jump-started his round with a 45-foot eagle putt on the No. 6 to get to 12 under and followed with a birdie on the par-4 seventh. His only bogey was on the par-3 eighth, and he rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 ninth. He played par the rest of the way until sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18.
Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Ryan Palmer, Henrik Norlander and Viktor Hovland tied for second.
Hovland had been the closest in pursuit with four birdies on the front nine to get to 12 under. But the birdies dried up and he bogeyed Nos. 14, 15 and 17 in a 71.
Ortiz stumbled badly with a 78. He hurt himself with three bogeys on the front nine that left him even at the turn. He had even more trouble on the back nine, when he bogeyed No. 11 and then had trouble getting out of a greenside bunker on No. 12, taking a double-bogey 6. He bogeyed 15, 16 and 18.
Casey wins 15th European title: Paul Casey left behind one of the unhappiest years of his golfing career by capturing his first title since 2019 with a four-stroke win at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.
The 43-year-old Englishman struggled to adapt to what he described as the “soulless” playing environment during the pandemic, with his only top-10 finish in 2020 coming at the PGA Championship when he tied for second behind Collin Morikawa.
He traveled to Dubai having not played on the European Tour since the end of 2019 and, aided by a new driver and a new mindset, wound up easing to his 15th victory on the European Tour — 20 years after his first — after shooting 2-under 70 in the final round.
“It’s something very cool because it’s not been great,” said Casey, who could jump to 14th in the world rankings after his first win since the European Open in September 2019. “I didn’t enjoy my golf in 2020. I mean, I played well one week but that was about it.
“It’s been totally soulless. No emotion. A whole bunch of feelings. I’ve not enjoyed it. And I’ve realized how much I love doing what I do, but I love doing it in the environment with people watching and the crowd and the noise — it can be heckling, it can be cheering and seeing the emotion on people’s faces and some people are rooting for the guy standing next to you, and some people are rooting for you. It’s just everything.”
Just having some people beside the fairways at Emirates Golf Club made him feel more alive.
“From 2020 to now, here, I’m rejuvenated,” Casey said. “I feel totally different.”
Casey began the day with a one-shot lead over Robert MacIntyre, and built a fivestroke cushion with seven holes to play after his Scottish playing partner made four straight bogeys from No. 7.
Walking down the 18th with a threestroke lead, Casey could enjoy one of his favorite shots in golf — the approach to the par-5 18th with the backdrop of the Dubai skyline — and he two-putted for birdie to finish the tournament on 17-under-par 271.
It’s a win that boosts Casey’s chances of making Europe’s Ryder Cup team for a second straight time, after Paris in 2018.