Reed wins PGA event
A day after rules controversy, Patrick Reed runs away at Torrey Pines.
In winning the Farmers Insurance Open Sunday in La Jolla, Calif., Patrick Reed shrugged off another rules controversy Saturday in the third round.
Reed had sparked chatter on the CBS telecast and throughout the golf world when he picked up a ball that he said was embedded and played it from another lie after a free drop. Replays, which showed that the ball bounced at least once before ending up in the spot from which Reed took it, caused some to question his version of events and say he lost the benefit of the doubt.
Reed closed with a 4-under 68 on
Notebook
the South Course, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th.
Reed, a former Masters champion. finished at 14 under after a consistent four days at the blufftop municipal courses overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He shared the firstround lead with Alex Noren, was in a group one shot off the lead in the second round and then shared the thirdround lead with Carlos Ortiz.
After winning the tournament by five strokes over five players, Reed reiterated his assertions that event officials told him everything he did was fine. As for being able to maintain his focus in the final round after a widespread outcry, he said, “I felt fine. I felt great throughout the day.”
Not everyone felt quite so good about his victory.
Xander Schauffele, who was among the group that came in a distant second, said of the controversy, “Obviously, the talk amongst the boys isn’t great, but he’s protected by the tour and that’s all that matters, I guess.”
Reed acknowledged after the third round that the situation was “unfortunate,” but he defended his actions.
“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 … you know, I feel great about it,” he said.
Casey wins
Englishman Paul Casey shot a 2under 70 in the final round to win the Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates by four strokes for his 15th title on the European Tour — 20 years after his first. Casey, 43, began the day with a one-shot lead over Robert MacIntyre, and built a fivestroke cushion with seven to play after his Scottish playing partner made four consecutive bogeys from No. 7.