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Patrick Reed shoots 67, leads Jon Rahm, Alex Noren by one
Streeter Lecka
Patrick Reed came into the Wells Fargo Championship on a bit of a cold streak. The Ryder Cup star had missed three of his last four cuts, the only made one coming in last week’s team event in New Orleans. But he seems to have found a remedy at Eagle Point Golf Club.
Reed, 26, posted a five-under-par 67, one of the three lowest rounds of the day, that gave him a one-stroke lead through 54 holes in Wilmington, N.C.
He played the front nine in two-under 34, added two more birdies at 10 and 12, then bogeyed the par-4 14th. But his best was yet to come. The five-time PGA Tour winner stuck his approach to three feet on the par-4 17th and holed the putt for birdie. He then hit the par-5 18th green in two, lipped out the eagle putt, and tapped in the birdie to get to eight-under par 208 . Reed, whose best finish of the season came at the SBS Tournament of Champions (T6) in January, appears to have finally found the form he's flashed in recent years.
One shot back at seven under are Sweden's Alex Noren and Spain's Jon Rahm, who both carded three-under 69s. Rahm hopes to grab his second victory of the year and continue his phenomenal first full season on the PGA Tour. Noren, who won four times on the European Tour in 2016, is looking for his first win on the PGA Tour.
South Korea’s Seung-Yul Noh also shot a five-under 67. Noh, 25, is making his fourth appearance in the Wells Fargo Championship, the first coming in 2012 when he finished T-9. He sits two shots back at six under and is looking for his second win on the PGA Tour. Brian Harman, Vaughn Taylor, and Francesco Molinari are tied with Noh.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson matched Reed and Noh's 67. He's at four under, just four shots back. Phil Mickelson, who is still attempting to win his first tournament since the 2013 Open Championship, also lurks at four under.