Patrick Reed, led all the way for second US PGA Tour win. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
PATRICK REED WINS HUMANA CHALLENGE BY TWO SHOTS FROM RYAN PALMER
Patrick Reed with the Humana Challenge Trophy. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
In the final round of the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, Patrick Reed carded a 1-under 71 to reach 28 under par and win by two strokes from Ryan Palmer at La Quinta, California.
“It wasn’t pretty, but it was a lot less stressful than I thought,” said Reed, who earned more than a million dollars and 500 FedExCup points with his victory to move into No. 8 in the standings.
Reed, 23, now owns two victories in 31 starts as a Tour member; both having come in his past nine starts. He won his first title after beating Jordan Spieth in a play-off at the Wyndham Championship in August.
Reed, who held a five-shot lead at the turn Sunday, was only two shots ahead after Zach Johnson's birdie at the par-5 18th hole. Reed responded by making a 17-foot birdie putt at the par-3 15th hole to take a three-shot lead with three holes remaining.
“To birdie 15 and know I sealed it then, it felt comfortable, it felt great,” Reed said. “I was able to play the last three holes just for par rather than trying to make birdies or trying to make something happen.”
He was on the 18th tee when Ryan Palmer made eagle to cut the deficit to two shots again. Reed laid up on the reachable par-5 18th and made an easy par to secure the two-shot victory.
Reed took a call from former President Bill Clinton -- the tournament is run in partnership with the Clinton Foundation -- during his interview session.
"He told me to get myself back in that zone more often," Reed said. "Because he said it was a lot of fun to watch."
Palmer made a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a 63.
"What can you do with what Patrick did this week?" Palmer said. "It's ridiculous what he did. Amazing how good he played. We'll come up a couple short, but it was a win in my game because I was playing for second today."
Zach Johnson and Justin Leonard tied for third at 25 under. Johnson birdied the final five holes for a 62, the best round of the week.
"I got red hot at the end," Johnson said.
The Kapalua winner is taking a four-week break.
"Hopefully, I can maintain where I'm at," Johnson said.
Leonard parred his last two for a 65.
"Would love to have made a few more putts," Leonard said.
Other than the 18-footer on No. 15, the longest putt Reed holed was a 5-footer for par on the par-4 13th. That was a crucial putt after he played the previous eight holes in 1 over with four bogeys and three birdies.
"I knew that if I didn't make that putt, then it was going to get interesting," Reed said. "To make that putt kind of gave me a little bit more fire saying, `All right, well, we're running out of holes for people to make a lot of birdies.'"
Reed missed two 6-foot par putts and an 8-footer and dropped another stroke with a poor bunker shot on the par-3 12th.
"It would either just stop just short, or it would break at the very end and break off the planet and lip out," Reed said. "It seemed like nothing would go in."
On Saturday, Reed broke the PGA TOUR record for relation to par for the first 54 holes, finishing at 27 under. He also became the first player in TOUR history to open with three rounds of 63 or better. On Sunday, he became the second player in the event to lead wire-to-wire, joining 1977 winner Rik Massengale.
"To have a day where I felt like I had probably about my C or D game and still shoot under par, and to close off a victory, that means a lot to me," Reed said.
Reed's wife, Justine, is pregnant with their first child, forcing her to turn over caddieing duties to her brother, Kessler Karain. She has walked every hole this year and plans to caddie again after the baby arrives around Memorial Day.
"I can't wait to be a dad and have a little girl running around," Reed said.
After helping Augusta State win NCAA titles in 2010 and 2011, Reed drew attention in 2012 when he successfully Monday-qualified for six events. He earned his TOUR card in December 2012, surviving six rounds of Q-school at PGA West.
"We have worked so hard at it," Reed said. "Especially, with my wife and I, how hard we have worked the past 2 years, through Q-School, through the Monday qualifiers, and through here to get two wins in less than half a year."
Inverness-born Russell Knox, 28, achieved his biggest US PGA Tour cheque and highest finish with a total of 20-under-par 268. He shot 65, 70, 67 and 66 for joint 13th place finish, earning $103,740.
Knox birdied his last five holes for a last-round total of eight birdies in all.
Fellow Scot Martin Laird finished T25 on 271 with scores of 69, 66, 68 and 68.
LEADING FINAL TOTALSPar 288 (4x72) Players from USA unless stated
260 Patrick Reid 63 63 63 71
262 Ryan Palmer 64 65 70 63
263 Zach Johnson 65 68 68 62, Justin Leonard 66 67 65 65
264 Brian Stuard 67 66 66 65
SELECTED TOTALS
268 Russell Knox (Scotland) 65 70 67 66 (T13)
271 Martin Laird (Scotland) 69 66 68 68 (T25)
273 Brian Davis (England) 69 71 66 67 (T38)
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