Planet Golf — 30 January 2021 by GW staff and news services
Reed, Ortiz enter final round tied

The Golf Channel

SAN DIEGO — Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He also had a share of the lead with Carlos Ortiz.

On the par-4 10th, Reed hit a 190-yard shot out of a bunker with a TV replay showing the ball bounced once before settling into the rough. Believing the ball didn’t bounce, Reed picked it up to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce.

Reed was awarded a free drop and saved par. He bogeyed four of the next holes before birdieing No. 18 for a 2-under 70 and a share of the lead with Ortiz at 10 under. Ortiz had a 66 on the South Course.

In December 2019 in Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Reed was penalized two strokes for appearing to deliberately improve his lie in a bunker.

“It’s an unfortunate situation obviously, but at the end of the day when you finish a round and the head rules official comes up to you and has the video and shows everything that went down to the whole group and says that you’ve done this perfectly, you did this the exact right way, the protocols you did were spot on, at that point, you know, I feel great about it,” Reed said.

“The ball just disappeared. None of us saw it bounce,” said Reed, who added that a nearby volunteer told him that it did not bounce. “I looked at my group and said, ‘Guys, she didn’t see it bounce it, either, so I’m going to mark this ball and see if it’s embedded.’

“Once I marked it, the first thing I wanted to do was make sure I got the ball out of my hand because you don’t want to clean it or anything because you don’t know if it’s embedded yet. When I put my finger down there and felt like it has broken ground, the first thing you do is call the rules official. … The rules official said, ‘Yes, this ball has broken the plane.’”

The ground was soft because of rain overnight Thursday and during the second round Friday, when play was suspended for nearly an hour because of a storm.

“At that point we go with what the rules official said and also with what the volunteers and what we see,” Reed said. “When we’re out there, we can’t see everything and when that happens you have to go with what the volunteers say and what the rules officials say and when all comes push and shove we felt like we did the right thing and the rules official said we did absolutely perfectly.”

PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett said Reed “did all the things we ask to do of a player. It’s obviously difficult and you get to second-guessing when see video; soft conditions, there’s a lot of variables out there.”


The incident on 10 overshadowed Reed’s eagle on the par-5 sixth when he reached in two and made a 40-foot putt to get to 12 under. He reached 13 under with a birdie on No. 9.

Reed shared the lead with Alex Noren after the first round and was one shot off the lead after 36 holes.

Sam Burns (70), Lanto Griffin (72), Viktor Hovland (73), Jon Rahm (72) and Adam Scott (72) were two shots back at 8 under. Rory McIlroy (70) was in a group of four at 7 under.

Scott’s round included an eagle, a double bogey, five birdies and five bogeys.

SECOND ROUND

SAN DIEGO — Viktor Hovland birdied his final hole for a 7-under 65 on Torrey Pines’ tough South Course on a rainy, miserable Friday, giving him a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Famers Insurance Open.

Hovland finished his round after play resumed following a suspension of about an hour due to wind and rain on the blufftop municipal course overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The 23-year-old Norwegian closed with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth to reach 9 under.

Hovland leads a group of six at 8 under, including first-round co-leader Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm, who won this tournament in 2017 and finished second to Marc Fleishman last year.

Reed shot an even-par 72 on the South Course a day after firing an 8-under 64 on the easier North Course. Rahm shot a 5-under 67 on the North Course.

Also at 8 under were Tony Finau, who had a 5-under 67 on the North; Ryan Palmer, who carded a 2-under 70 on the North; Adam Scott, who had a 3-under 69 on the South; and Lanto Griffin, who shot 2-under 70 on the South.

The weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend rounds on the South Course. The course will host the U.S. Open in June for just the second time.

Hovland lives in Stillwater, where he played at Oklahoma State. He said he’s been practicing there recently.

“That’s helped me for this week. It got really cold, obviously raining and hail, so being Norwegian I think that also helps,” he said. “I just played really solid and made some putts.”

He had just one bogey, on the par-4 15th.

Hovland, who won the Puerto Rico Open last year for his first tour victory, said he has confidence going into the weekend.

“I think especially playing a tough course like the South Course, you can’t really fake it, especially in these conditions,” he said. “Playing a hard golf course and then playing well, that I think is what gives me the ultimate kind of belief that I played really well today. You just can’t really fake it. But it’s another day tomorrow and we’ve got two more rounds left, so it’s definitely not going to roll over and give anything to you.”

Rahm also had just one bogey. He said it was much more difficult Friday than the opening round, which was played in nice weather.

“Those fairways are narrow enough as it is. When you start adding the side wind, it’s just not fun,” Rahm said.

“I can’t really stress how hard it can get,” he added. “North is easier. South today is brutal, I mean absolutely brutal. Every shot counts out there. Even being on the fairway some shots are not easy and with this wind and rain coming in and out, for those who played the North today, we should be really fortunate to play that course today.”

Rahm shot a 3-under 69 on the South Course on Thursday.

Phil Mickelson birdied his final two holes to just make the cut at 1 under. He shot par on the South. Another San Diegan, Xander Schauffele was at 2 under after shooting par on the South.

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