Patrick Reed from Texas with the WGC-Cadillac Championship trophy. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
PATRICK REED DENIES WELSHMAN
DONALDSON VICTORY AT DORAL
FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Texan Patrick
Reed overcame a late wobble to win the WGC-Cadillac Championship by a
single shot as Welshman Jamie Donaldson posted his best World Golf Championships
finish with a share of second place.
Reed was two shots clear overnight at Trump National Doral and doubled
that advantage with three birdies and a bogey in his opening four holes.
Donaldson and Bubba Watson reduced the gap to three as Reed recorded
nine straight pars, before a missed putt from inside five feet cost the
American a bogey at the 14th.
Pontypridd-born Donaldson then got within one shot after a magnificent approach
to the 17th left him a tap-in birdie, only to bogey the last after
finding sand with his approach.
That meant the 38 year old signed for a closing 70 to join former
Masters Tournament winner Watson in the clubhouse on three under par,
with Reed still needing to negotiate a 55ft birdie putt on the 17th
and the Blue Monster’s daunting 18th, the latter where
Martin Kaymer carded the only birdie of the final round.
Reed knocked his effort on the 17th to tap-in range to erase any
concerns of a three-putt bogey, then laid up at the last and two-putted
for victory in his first WGC stroke-play event, having made his debut at
the recent Accenture Match Play Championship.
At 23 years old he also becomes the youngest winner of a WGC event,
breaking the record of World No 1 Tiger Woods by 26 days.
Woods closed with a birdie-less six-over-par 78 and tied for 25th place alongside Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Adam Scott.
“It means a lot to come out here and play as well as I did, with Tiger
close to the lead and Hunter Mahan really close, Jason Dufner, all those
great guys that are Major winners who have been on Ryder Cup teams.
They are just outstanding players.
“I have a lot of confidence in my game. It's one of those things that
you build confidence by how hard you work, and I feel like I'm one of
the hardest workers out here and it definitely shows,”
Meanwhile, Donaldson’s consolation is that he firmly underlined his
Ryder Cup credentials courtesy of his best performance on American soil.
“I played really well all week,” said Donaldson, whose previous best WGC
finish came when he was eighth at last year’s HSBC Champions.
“My long game was really good from tee to green. I think in the end,
it's come down to not quite holing enough putts, but I hit a lot of good
putts this week and sometimes they just don't go in.
“I’m happy with the week overall. I've gone out there and played as well
as I can, and shot as low a score as I can in the conditions that we've
had to play in all week, and that's all I can do really.
“It's nice to come here and have a great week on what is a very tough golf course.”
There were plenty of other impressive displays from European Tour
Members on the final day, with South African Richard Sterne sharing
fourth place with Dustin Johnson on level par after a closing 71.
Thongchai Jaidee and Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Stephen Gallacher
were a shot further back in sixth position after rounds of 68 and 69
respectively, with Major Champions Charl Schwartzel (68) and Graeme
McDowell (73) sharing ninth place on two over par.
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TIGER'S BACK PROBLEM FLARES UP
AGAIN IN A BIRDIE-LESS LAST ROUND
REPORT FROM US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Patrick Reed felt he belongs among the best in
the world. He beat them all Sunday in the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Dressed in a red shirt that he always wears in the final round --
with Tiger Woods in the group ahead of him -- Reed made back-to-back
birdies early on the front nine to build a big lead and showed off a
great short game when the pressure was building on the new Blue Monster
at Doral.
Equipped with a two-shot lead, the 23-year-old Texan wisely played
the final hole conservatively. He two-putted for bogey and closed with
an even-par 72 for a one-shot victory over Bubba Watson and Jamie
Donaldson of Wales.
Reed became the youngest winner of a World Golf Championship, his third win in his last 14 tournaments.
Woods, only three shots behind going into the final round in his best
chance this year to win a tournament, said his back flared up after an
awkward shot out of the bunker on the sixth hole.
He failed to make a
birdie in the final round for the first time in his US PGA Tour career, and
his 78 was his worst Sunday score ever.
Reed is expected to go to No. 20 in the world ranking. In his own ranking, he feels he belongs in the top five.
The six-footer from Spring, Texas - who won the RandA Junior Open at Heswall, Lancashire as a 16-year-old in 2006, cited an amateur career that includes going 6-0 in matches to lead
Augusta State to two NCAA titles, followed by three US PGA TOUR wins in
the past seven months, the most recent in January.
"I don't see a lot of guys that have done that besides Tiger Woods
and the legends of the game," Reed said.
"I believe in myself,
especially with how hard I've worked. I'm one of the top five players in
the world. I feel like I've proven myself."
He joined some exclusive company. Since 1990, only Woods, Phil
Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia had three US PGA Tour wins before
turning 24.
This was not an accident, either.
Reed has had a share of the lead going into the final round of all
three of his victories -- the Wyndham Championship last August, the
Humana Challenge in January and a World Golf Championship at Doral that
featured the strongest field so far this year.
His last two wins were wire-to-wire, including ties.
Watson, who won at Riviera three weeks ago, went bogey-free over the
final 27 holes, a strong performance on the overhauled Trump National
Doral. He closed with a 68, finishing with par after blasting through
the palms, into the grandstand and back into the rough.
Donaldson wasn't so fortunate. He hit into a foot on the 17th for his
third birdie on the back nine to get within one shot of the lead.
From
the 18th fairway -- after watching Miguel Angel Jimenez go through the
green and into the water -- he blocked his approach away from the flag
and into the back bunker. Donaldson blasted out to just inside 15 feet
and missed the par putt. He closed with a 70, a shot behind the winner in joint second place.
Reed finished at 4-under 284, matching the highest winning score at Doral. Mark McCumber won at 284 in 1985.
Reed, Donaldson and Watson were the only players to finish under par for the testing 72 holes.
Dustin Johnson, who lost momentum around the turn, made double bogey
on the 18th hole for a 72 and tied for fourth with Richard Sterne (71).
Woods went into the final round with a chance to win for the first time all year.
It didn't last very long.
He beaned and bloodied a spectator on the opening hole and missed a
10-foot birdie putt. He beaned another spectator on No. 3, kicking the
ball back into the fairway, only he followed that with a shot into the
water and made bogey.
Woods made two more bogeys over the next three
holes and was an afterthought. He said the pain intensified after his
bunker shot on the sixth.
Woods had his left foot in the sand and his right foot flexed against the lip of the bunker.
"That's what set it off and then it was done after that," he said.
"Just see if I could actually manage ... keep the spasms at bay."
The results are not very promising on his short road to the Masters.
Woods has played only four tournaments, and only twice gone 72 holes. He
missed the 54-hole cut at Torrey Pines, tied for 41st in Dubai and
withdrew after 13 holes in the final round of the Honda Classic last
week.
He is scheduled to make only one more start -- Bay Hill in two weeks -- before Augusta National.
The other guy in the red shirt and black pants played like he knew
what was doing with the lead. Reed left no doubt early that it would be
his tournament to win.
His two-shot lead dwindled to one after a bogey from the bunker on
the second hole, and that was as close as it got until it no longer
mattered.
He knocked in a 25-foot birdie from the back of the green at No. 3,
He holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the tough par-3 fourth. Jason Dufner,
playing in the final group, went into the water on the fourth to begin
his quick slide. Reed made par on the next nine holes, and only in the
final hour was the outcome ever in doubt.
Reed saved par from the bunker on Nos. 11, 13 and 15. His only bogey came on a 3-foot putt he missed at No. 14.
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