Reed leads as Tiger makes his move

US Tour

bruced
March 9, 2014

Patrick Reed carded a three-under-par 69 to build a two-shot lead at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, but Tiger Woods is on the prowl.

Starting the round in a four-way lead at only one under following a difficult day for scoring at Blue Moster on Friday, Reed made the most of the calmer conditions as he got a handy lead over Jason Dufner and Hunter Mahan with Jamie Donaldson and Woods at one under.

He started his round in unspectacular fashion as a bogey on the third left him at one over until the seventh hole, but his fortunes changed after that as he rolled in a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-five eighth.

That was followed by two birdies in a row at the start of his back nine before a bogey at the 15th and another birdie at the 16th.

Asked about how he would feel seeing Tiger in front of him on Sunday, Reed replied: “That’s fine. I’ve seen Tiger a lot on the driving range. Never had the opportunity to play with him and I still haven’t been able to play with him.

“But you know, whenever he’s close to the lead, he’s a guy you have to watch out for.

“At the same time, I have to go and just play my own game.”

He added: “If you have a 54 hole lead, that means you’re playing the best golf of the group through three rounds.

“The thing is, I just can’t get ahead of myself and tomorrow is Sunday but at the same time it’s another round of golf.”

Dufner produced a four-under-par 68 and Mahan a one under 71 to be tied second at two under, while Woods easily carded the round of the day with a six under 66 to be tied fourth with Donaldson (71).

The American picked up two birdies in his first three holes before dropping a shot at the par-three fourth. However, two more birdies helped him to finish with a 33.

He again picked up two shots in his first three holes on the back nine, but a bogey at the par-three 13th pegged him back slightly. Again he made up for it with birdies at the 15th and 16th.

“I played well,” the world number one said. “I got off to a good start. I held it together and made some putts.”

Two-time major winner Rory McIlroy didn’t have the best of days as his three-over-par 75 saw him slip to tied 19th. It was a messy round that included two double-bogeys, two bogeys and three birdies.

“Couldn’t hole a putt for birdie, so may as well chip one in,” McIlroy said. “It was a tough day. Hit two balls in the water on eight, didn’t play the par-fives well at all, played those in four over, so when you do that right here you’re sort of putting yourself behind the eight-ball a little bit.”

FedEx Cup winner Henrik Stenson had an even worse day at the office as he is tied 40th after a two over on Saturday. His round included one double-bogey, five bogeys and five birdies.

US Tour US Tour Reports