Reed escapes harm from another rules issue
He fires 2-under 70, shares Farmers lead
SAN DIEGO — Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He also had a 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 nearby 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 ground was soft because of rain overnight Thursday and during the second round Friday, when play was suspended for nearly an hour because of a storm.
“At that point we go with what the rules official said and also with what the volunteers and what we see,” Reed said. “When we’re out there, we can’t see everything and when that happens you have to go with what the volunteers say and what the rules officials say and when all comes push and shove
we felt like we did the right thing and the rules official said we did absolutely perfectly.”
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 when he reached in two and made a 40-foot putt to get to 12 under. He reached 13 under with a birdie on No. 9.
Reed shared the lead with Alex Noren after the first round and was one shot off the lead after 36 holes.
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.
EUROPEAN TOUR: In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 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 Tour. Casey made four birdies in his first seven holes at Emirates Golf Club before finishing birdie-eagle for the low round of the day that lifted him above Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (67) onto 15 under par overall.
Former New Mexico Lobo Gavin Green struggled to an 83 and is 11-over par — last in the remaining field by seven strokes.