Going Low
After posting a Saturday 59, Patrick Reed closes out first win in four years on Sunday in Hong Kong
Patrick Reed won his first individual pro title since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open with a victory on Sunday at the Asian Tour's Hong Kong Open. The former Masters champion followed up a 59 on Saturday with a 66 on Sunday to win by three shots.
Eurasia Sport Images
The name Patrick Reed hasn’t been spoken much by golf cognoscenti in 2024. The former Masters champion had an up-and-down year on the LIV Golf circuit, ranking 20th in the individual points standings with three top-10 finishes, his best effort a T-3 in the Houston stop not far from his home in The Woodlands, Texas. He made the cut in the two majors he competed in—T-12 at the Masters, T-53 at the PGA—and posted a T-10 at Spanish Open among four DP World Tour starts he made this fall.
To say then that Reed’s weekend at the Link Hong Kong Open was his most impressive golf accomplishment of the year would seem to be reasonable. It started on Saturday when he shot just the second 59 in the history of the Asian Tour to take a three-shot lead over India’s Rashid Khan and Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong at Hong Kong golf Club
Then on Sunday, Reed followed it up with a four-under 66 to claim the tournament title in a three-shot triumph over defending champion Ben Campbell. The victory was the 34-year-old’s first individual victory in any pro event since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open.
“Nothing like coming to a place that I know pretty well and love the golf course,” Reed said. “I love how it makes me think about golf shots and you have to be creative around this place. So, to be able to come out and play the way like I did on the weekend. I mean, it always helps shooting 59 yesterday, but the biggest thing, the hardest part, was today.”
Reed’s impressive Saturday started with him birdieing his first five holes, and six out of seven to start the round. He kept the momentum going on the back nine five birdies on his last six holes.
“Yeah, you know, it was kind of one those days,” Reed said afterward. “I got up, I felt a little tight but felt ready to go and got out here and had probably one of the worst warm-ups ever. I looked at my caddie, and he goes, ‘Hey, a warm-up is a warm-up, let's go out and just play golf.’ He goes, some of your best rounds have come from a poor warm-up.”
The only caveat to the round was the fact that the field was playing preferred lies so Asian Tour officials say it won’t officially count in their record books. Coincidentally, Reed was paired with John Caitlin when the American shot the first 59 on the Asian Tour in March at the International Series event in Macau.
Reed had never won on the Asian Tour after claiming ninth PGA Tour title before he jumped to LIV. He entered the week 164th in the Official World Golf Rankings but is expected to jump to roughly 127th. Meanwhile, he intends to play in two more Asian Tour events in 2024—next week’s International Series Qatar and the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, the week after.