USA TODAY International Edition
Wins puts Reed in ideal position
Golfer leads PGA Tour title race, earns Ryder Cup spot
FARMINGDALE, N. Y. Patrick Reed had quite a Sunday.
He received a $ 1.53 million check for winning The Barclays at Bethpage Black, which broke a nearly two- year winless streak and gave him PGA Tour title No. 5. He took the lead in the FedExCup Playoffs.
And he locked up a spot on the U. S. Ryder Cup team.
After putting playing partner and overnight leader Rickie Fowler away late in the day, Reed held on for a one- stroke victory despite bogeys on two of his last three holes to win the first of four Playoff events to decide the FedExCup champion and the winner of a $ 10 million bonus.
With a tap- in for bogey on the final hole, Reed wrapped up his 1- under- par 70 for a one- stroke victory over Emiliano Grillo ( 69) and Sean O’Hair ( 66).
“I haven’t had that feeling in a while coming down the last couple ( holes). With having a lead, I felt like I did a lot of things well,” said Reed, who had 17 top- 10 finishes, including five runner- ups, since his last victory in the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. “Unfortunately I didn’t quite make the scores I wanted to down the last, but it was enough to get the job done.
“It was patience all week. I stuck with my game plan, and there in my second round, I kind of steered away from the game plan on a couple of the holes, and it bit me. So going
into today, I knew that one shot is not a lot around this golf course to make up. I just needed to stick to my game plan, be patient and allow my clubs to do the work.”
World No. 1 Jason Day ( 69), Gary Woodland ( 69) and Adam Scott ( 71) finished two shots back in a tie for fourth. Fowler, the overnight leader by one, shot 74 and wound up in a group at 6 under in a tie for seventh.
The day also included Sung Kang’s 64 that matched the course record. And Chad Campbell, despite missing the cut, moved to 100th in the Playoff standings with only the top 100 moving on to the second postseason event.
Reed will play for the USA vs. Europe in the Ryder Cup, which begins Sept. 30. He’s one of eight automatic qualifiers, joining Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson. Davis Love III will make four captain’s picks next month.
“It was a huge goal of ours to get back, because in our first Ryder Cup we played so well and unfortunately the Cup didn’t come back with us,” said Reed, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2014. “It will be sweet revenge, and hopefully our team gets fired up and goes out and keeps that Cup home.
“Everyone was talking about the Ryder Cup, that I was the bubble boy. We just decided to concentrate on what I can do. We got a good game plan for this week and knew a win would take care of everything.”
Reed, frustrated to go so long without a win, couldn’t get much going early but birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 7 to stay with Fowler. Reed took the outright lead when Fowler bogeyed the 11th. Reed built the lead to three with a birdie on 12 and a bogey by Fowler on 15, enough cushion for his end.
Fowler started the day with a one- shot lead on Reed and was two clear of Scott. His late stumbles cost him an automatic spot on the Ryder Cup team, but Fowler said he wasn’t playing to protect that position.
“My main focus was winning,” Fowler said. “Just made some not- so- good swings at a bad time. No, I wasn’t just trying to get a decent finish. I was trying to win. … This is about as tough a test as you get. I did great the first 10 holes. I didn’t swing the way I needed to. I didn’t drive the ball the way I needed to coming in. I mean, it was barely off.
“Needed to be on the fairway, and when I was on the fairway, I was great. But I wasn’t there enough.”
“Hopefully our team gets fired up and goes out and keeps that ( Ryder) Cup home.” Team USA’s Patrick Reed