Patrick Reed buries latest controversy with victory in California

Patrick Reed shook off his involvement in another rules controversy to claim a five-stroke win and his ninth PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open in California.
The American was awarded a free drop and saved par on Saturday after what he later described as a “textbook” call to handle a ball he believed did not bounce before settling in the rough on the par-four 10th.
The Ryder Cup star, who was penalised two strokes for appearing to deliberately improve his lie in a bunker at the Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in December 2019, pushed ahead undaunted on Sunday to close with a four-under 68 at Torrey Pines.
A 5-shot win for @PReedGolf.
This is the largest margin of victory of his career.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/wjJopMqcjS
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 31, 2021
The 30-year-old eagled with a 45-foot putt on the par-five sixth before coming home strongly with a birdie on the final hole that saw him finish with a 14-under 274 through the tournament.
Fellow Americans Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer and Xander Schauffele were five strokes back and tied for second with Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Henrik Norlander of Sweden.
Rory McIlroy was the best of the British after he dropped eight spots from the previous day to finish tied for 16th.
The Northern Irishman started poorly with bogeys on the 10th and 13th before he double-bogeyed on the par-four 15th, while England’s Tom Lewis emulated Reed with a birdie on the 18th to finish tied for 42nd on one under.
McIlroy, like the eventual winner, was given a free drop on Saturday from an embedded lie on the 18th.
“I came in here yesterday after hearing about what Patrick had been through on the 10th hole sort of giving him the benefit of the doubt because I just went through a similar thing on 18 yesterday,” he told reporters.
“I’ve never tried to get away with anything out here. Our game is about integrity and it’s about doing the right thing. I always try to do the right thing and hopefully people see that. I feel like I have a reputation of that.
“Yesterday was one of those things that I guess Patrick and I both went on the information that we had and made those determinations.
“I guess people can jump to conclusions, but at the same time we were well within our rights to do what we did. My ball was certainly plugged on 18, Patrick felt his ball was plugged on 10 and we proceeded on from there.”
The victory, Reed’s largest margin on the PGA Tour, pushes the former Masters champion 55 spots up the FedEx Rankings for him to finish a weekend of controversy ranked 10th.
Latest
-
News
On this day in 2008: Ryder Cup misery in Louisville for Nick Faldo’s Europe
Faldo was heavily criticised for his tactics in the closing singles.
-
Lucas Glover edges past Patrick Cantlay to claim back-to-back Tour wins
Glover, 43, ultimately claimed victory with a par on the 18th hole playoff after Cantlay found water off the tee.
-
Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle
American Vu added the Women’s Open title to her Chevron Championship.
-
Lucas Glover holds onto lead in Memphis with Tommy Fleetwood two strokes behind
Glover said it was a scrappy day but he got ‘a lot out of’ what he had.
-
Charley Hull shares lead with Lilia Vu heading into final day of Women’s Open
The pair are nine under for the tournament.
-
On This Day in 2007 – Tiger Woods claims 13th major with victory in Oklahoma
The world number one successfully defended his US PGA Championship title.
-
Ally Ewing out to emulate Brian Harman with Open win
The pair share their southern roots, passion for hunting and college teams named the Bulldogs.
-
Ally Ewing storms clear during second round of AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath
At 10 under par Ewing enjoyed a five-shot lead over compatriot Andrea Lee and Japan’s Minami Katsu.
-
Jordan Spieth leads by one after first round of FedEx St Jude Championship
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are the best of the British contingent, closing out Thursday on four under par.
-
Rory McIlroy delighted with Tiger Woods’ role on PGA Tour’s policy board
Woods, 47, has not played since withdrawing from April’s Masters and concedes his playing opportunities will be extremely limited going forward.