REED OPENS WITH 64 TO TAKE LEAD AT HSBC CHAMPIONS

Patrick Reed had a Ryder Cup he’d like to forget and spent three weeks at home in Texas preparing to finish the year strong.

He was at his best Thursday in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Even in blustery conditions, Reed putted for birdie on every hole at Sheshan International and closed out his bogey-free round with a 25-foot birdie putt for an 8-under 64, giving him a two-shot lead over Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele.

“It felt really good, because if you can go out and shoot rounds like that in these kind of conditions, you know you’re going to have confidence when the wind dies down and there are perfect conditions out there,” Reed said.

Schauffele also managed a bogey-free round in wind strong enough to be a twoclub difference at times. He saved par on the final hole at No. 9 from the right rough with an approach that narrowly cleared the water into a patch of fairway short of the green, a pitch-and-run to 10 feet and another solid putt.

Matt Fitzpatrick had five straight birdies to overcome a rough start and post a 67.

Brooks Koepka, in his debut at No. 1 in the world, didn’t deliver much excitement. He had 16 pars, one bogey and one birdie for a 72.

He was stunned when his second shot in the par-5 18th spun off the front of the green and into the water, forcing him to scramble for par at the turn instead of an easy birdie or better.

“I felt like I played good enough to shoot 4- or 5-under par,” Koepka said. “It was those momentum-building shots.”