Reed puts rule controversy behind him
GOLF
SAN DIEGO: Controversial American player Patrick Reed has shrugged off a rules furore a day earlier to claim a runaway fiveshot victory in the US PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, the largest winning margin of his nine Tour career wins.
Reed closed with a 4under 68 at Torrey Pines yesterday, making an eagle on the par5 sixth and finishing off his victory with a birdie on the 18th as he finished 14 under.
Tony Finau (69), Xander Schauffele (69), Ryan Palmer (70), Sweden’s Henrik Norlander (69) and young Norwegian star Viktor
Hovland (71) all tied for second.
Australia’s Adam Scott went backwards with a 73, including four bogeys, to finish tied for 10th, seven shots behind fellow former Masters champion Reed.
Reed had been cleared by the PGA Tour over a controversy that erupted on Sunday when he picked up his ball to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived and he was allowed a free drop.
Replays showed Reed’s ball had bounced before sinking into deep rough, which he later admitted would suggest it did not embed, but noone was aware of that at the time.
Reed, who has had rulesrelated issues in the past, including at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, faced several media questions about it afterward and said he believed he handled the matter properly, given what he knew. Tour officials agreed.
‘‘I was allowed to kind of put it behind me when the head rules official comes up and says you did everything you were supposed to do,’’ Reed said.
‘‘When you do everything you’re supposed to do, at the end of the day that’s all you can control. Going into today, I felt good, I felt confident and really went to the golf course, plugged in my headphones and just kind of got in my world with my coach and got to that first tee.’’
Sharing the lead overnight, Reed jumpstarted his final round with a 14m eagle putt on the sixth hole to get to 12 under and followed with a birdie on the par4 seventh.
His only bogey was on the par3 eighth, and he rebounded with a birdie on the par5 ninth. He played par the rest of the way until sinking a 2.5m birdie putt on No 18.
Joint overnight leader
Carlos Ortiz stumbled badly with a round of 6over 78 and tied for 29th. — AP