PATRICK REED IS confident he can find Major success at the Masters after his Friday birdie barrage launched him into the lead.
Reed, whose fierce competitive streak has made him a stalwart of recent US Ryder Cup teams, fired a six-under par 66 to move to nine-under, two shots clear of Australian Marc Leishman.
It was Reed’s best-ever round at Augusta National by four strokes.
“Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them,” Reed said.
Through two rounds at Augusta National, he is tied for fewest putts with 51 and has 22 one-putts. Perhaps more importantly, he has birdied all eight par-5 holes so far this week.
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“The par-5s are huge here to pick up ground. You can’t shoot low without them,” said Reed, who had nine birdies all told on Friday — all in bursts of three.
Reed said there was no reason he can’t keep it up through the weekend to claim his first major title.
“I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, that I can win majors,” he said. “I have to go in and not get ahead of myself and go into (Saturday) and just take it shot by shot, hole by hole, like I’ve been doing.”
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is third on five-under par while Rory McIlroy, chasing the win he needs for a career Grand Slam, is alongside Jordan Spieth on four-under, five off the pace.
“I’m constantly having a conversation with myself about staying in the present and just one shot at a time — and all the cliche stuff that you hear about,” McIlroy said.
“But it’s true. That’s all I’m doing. I’m trying to get up there and hit the best shot that I can and after that I’ll go about what’s the best way to hit the next shot and the putt.”
He added: “I think whenever I first came out here on tour I thought all these guys birdied every hole and you just had to hit unbelievable shot after unbelievable shot and hole the putt afterwards,” he said. “It’s not quite like that.
“Golf is a game of making your misses not that bad and taking advantage of your good shots. So far this week, I’ve been able to do that.”
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Reed it and sleep! Patrick heads to bed with two-shot lead at the Masters
PATRICK REED IS confident he can find Major success at the Masters after his Friday birdie barrage launched him into the lead.
Reed, whose fierce competitive streak has made him a stalwart of recent US Ryder Cup teams, fired a six-under par 66 to move to nine-under, two shots clear of Australian Marc Leishman.
It was Reed’s best-ever round at Augusta National by four strokes.
“Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them,” Reed said.
Through two rounds at Augusta National, he is tied for fewest putts with 51 and has 22 one-putts. Perhaps more importantly, he has birdied all eight par-5 holes so far this week.
“The par-5s are huge here to pick up ground. You can’t shoot low without them,” said Reed, who had nine birdies all told on Friday — all in bursts of three.
Reed said there was no reason he can’t keep it up through the weekend to claim his first major title.
“I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, that I can win majors,” he said. “I have to go in and not get ahead of myself and go into (Saturday) and just take it shot by shot, hole by hole, like I’ve been doing.”
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is third on five-under par while Rory McIlroy, chasing the win he needs for a career Grand Slam, is alongside Jordan Spieth on four-under, five off the pace.
“I’m constantly having a conversation with myself about staying in the present and just one shot at a time — and all the cliche stuff that you hear about,” McIlroy said.
“But it’s true. That’s all I’m doing. I’m trying to get up there and hit the best shot that I can and after that I’ll go about what’s the best way to hit the next shot and the putt.”
He added: “I think whenever I first came out here on tour I thought all these guys birdied every hole and you just had to hit unbelievable shot after unbelievable shot and hole the putt afterwards,” he said. “It’s not quite like that.
“Golf is a game of making your misses not that bad and taking advantage of your good shots. So far this week, I’ve been able to do that.”
- © AFP 2018
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Augusta National Masters 2018 Patrick Reed Rory McIlroy The Masters