Less than a year after clinching his third PGA Tour title and declaring himself among the game’s top-five players, Patrick Reed enhanced his golfing status by winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Monday.
Never short of confidence, the 24-year-old American produced a stellar display of shot-making over the closing holes at the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii, before beating compatriot Jimmy Walker in a playoff to earn the winner’s US$1.14 million check 10 months after winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
A birdie at the 15th at the Kapalua Golf Club was followed by a stunning eagle at the par-four 16th, where he holed out from the fairway. Although Reed lipped out from four feet to bogey the 17th, he birdied the par-five last and again in the playoff to seal the victory.
Photo: AFP
“The main thing all week for us was stay patient, it’s windy out here, give yourself looks for birdie and just try to make some putts,” said Reed, who drained an 18-foot putt on the first extra hole.
Reed’s eagle at the 16th, where his ball landed to the right of the hole before spinning sharply and disappearing into the cup, lifted him into a tie for the lead.
“I heard the applause,” he smiled. “I didn’t really see it, but I was able to see the highlights.”
Reed booked his place in the elite winners-only field at Kapalua with the victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in March last year, where he brashly claimed he was “one of the top five players in the world,” although his form since has been erratic.
“My game was still there,” he said. “I just never put anything together. There was always one piece that would be missing, but I felt like I was improving, my stats were improving.”
Reed was specific about his goals for the year.
“One of them is a multi-win year,” he said. “And also just to make that percentage of top-10s better ... just to get that consistency better.”
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