Patrick Reed had plenty of reasons for optimism when he made the turn during his third round. He’d just made birdie on the par-5 9th and his putter was hot as ever. At five under, he was alone in the lead and looked to be in total control. All he needed to do was successfully navigate Winged Foot’s back nine and he could sleep on a 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open.
If only it were that easy.
Reed looked like a completely different golfer on the back nine en route to a disastrous 43 that all but sank his hope of claiming his second major title. The deft touch he showcased through the first 45 holes of the championship was nowhere to be found, and even his hot flatstick couldn’t bail him out.
By the time the sun sank low over the Hudson Valley, Reed found himself eight shots out of the lead. When asked about his emotions after the round, there was little hesitation to find the words.
“Frustrated,” he said. “I mean, anyone in my position would be frustrated, especially with having the lead going into today.”
Understandable when considering the sloppiness he displayed over the final two-plus hours of his round. The trouble started on No. 10 when he fanned his approach short and right of the green. His difficult pitch came up short of the green and he settled for bogey. No sweat — in the U.S. Open, bogeys aren’t going to kill you. But that poor pitch foreshadowed what was to come.
The 11th presented similar troubles. Approach short and right of the green, a poor pitch that failed to find the putting surface and Reed facing yet another bogey putt. This one didn’t drop. All of the sudden, he was back to two under after dropping three shots over two holes.
After displaying his normal grit and bouncing back every time he faced adversity early on, Reed couldn’t muster that same mettle coming home. The mistakes compounded, the bogeys piled up and his chances were dashed.
Instead of sleeping on a lead and having dreams of hoisting the trophy by Sunday evening, Reed will instead be stuck with the nightmare that was his final nine holes. But in a tournament where we come to expect carnage, the former Masters champ isn’t counting himself out just yet.
“The great thing is there’s always tomorrow,” Reed said. “Even though I’m eight shots back, if I go out and play a really solid round tomorrow, you never know.”
