DP World Tour Championship: Patrick takes sole ownership

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Patrick Reed of the USA plays his second shot on the third hole during Day Two of the DP World Tour Championship.
Patrick Reed of the USA plays his second shot on the third hole during Day Two of the DP World Tour Championship.

Dubai - Following a sedate opening where he shot a bogey-free two-under par 70, the world No.11 conjured the lowest score of the day on Friday to surge to the top

By James Jose

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Published: Fri 11 Dec 2020, 8:07 PM

More often than not, being cautious rather than going on an all-out attack and having a nothing to lose attitude, certainly pays. And Patrick Reed certainly did that with aplomb. The American, bidding to become the first golfer from the USA to claim the prestigious Race to Dubai, shifted gears to take sole ownership of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Following a sedate opening where he shot a bogey-free two-under par 70, the world No.11 conjured the lowest score of the day on Friday to surge to the top.


The 30-year-old signed off with an eight-under par 64 on the 7675-yard Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, to turn a three-shot deficit to a two-stroke lead at the halfway mark and heading into ‘Moving Day.’

Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai with 2,427.7 points, rolled in nine birdies in his second round. It could have been even better if not for a lone bogey on the par-4 12th as he finished with an overall 10-under par.


That saw the Texan two shots ahead of England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, who came up with an identical four-under, the same as his first round, to be on eight-under.

Lurking behind him are compatriots Tyrrell Hatton and Laurie Canter, who came up with four-under and six-under respectively to be tied third with seven-under.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai champion, scored a three-under to be six-under and tied fifth along with Finland’s Sami Valimaki, England’s Lee Westwood and South African Branden Grace.

Overnight leader Victor Perez, who had shot a five-under on Thursday, carded a two-over to slip to tied 14th. The Frenchman endured a tough day with two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey marking his round.

American Collin Morikawa, who had shot par earlier, came up with a two-under to be tied 21st.

Teeing off from the first, Reed rolled in back-to-back birdies on the par-5 second and par-4 third. He then came up with another birdie on the par-4 fifth before wrapping up the front nine with consecutive birdies on the seventh and eighth.

Reed began his return journey with a birdie on the 10th but suffered a bogey on the 12th. But successive birdies on the 15th and 16th got him going again and he put the finishing touches with a birdie on the par-5 18th.

“Anytime you shoot 8-under par you’re always happy,” Reed said after his round.

“I feel like today (Friday), I got off to a little better start than I did yesterday (Thursday) and the putter was working a little bit. Yesterday (Thursday), I felt like I did a lot of things pretty well, just putts weren’t really falling, was kind of burning a couple edges, a couple iron shots weren’t as close as they needed to be, and today (Friday) I tightened it up. I was able to hit the ball a little closer, give myself more opportunities and see the lines a little better today (Friday),” he added.

And Reed is focussing on winning the tournament and not looking at the Race to Dubai just yet.

“Yeah, honestly I haven’t really looked. Throughout the week I haven’t looked at it. I obviously know where I stand going into the week. I know that if I win the golf tournament or finish second alone, unless there’s one or two guys that win the golf tournament, I end up winning the Race to Dubai. Really the way I’m looking at it is everyone is starting at zero, trying to go out and win the golf tournament, and if you take care of business and win the golf tournament, then the Race to Dubai will take care of itself,” said Reed.

The lead pairing of Reed and Fitzpatrick will tee off from the first at 12.40 p.m, while Canter and Hatton are scheduled to start at half past noon. Fleetwood and Valimaki get going at 10 minutes past noon.

james@khaleejtimes.com


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