Seeking his first victory in nearly four years, Patrick Reed shot 59 on Saturday during the third round of the Link Hong Kong Open to take a three-shot lead.
The International Series event is part of the Asian Tour and is being played at Hong Kong Golf Club, where Reed made 11 birdies on the par-70 course.
“It was kind of one those days. 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,” Reed said. “I looked at my caddy, 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.
“And I stepped up on that first tee and hit a great drive, and then from that point on, just quality iron shots, leaving myself a lot of really good looks, and was able to make a lot of putts.”
Reed, 34, who won the 2018 Masters, has no victories since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour.
In 2022, Reed joined LIV Golf, where he has not won in three seasons. LIV Golf has a partnership with the Asian Tour which sees it fund the $2 million purses on the International Series, an elevated group of 10 events where its season-long money leader earns a LIV Golf spot in 2025.
The leader in the race is American John Catlin, the only other player in Asian Tour history to shoot 59. Catlin did so earlier this year at the International Series Macau, where Reed was grouped with him in the third round.
Reed began his round Saturday with five straight birdies, added another at the seventh and shot 28 for the first nine holes. His seventh birdie came at the 13th and Reed then birdied the final four holes including a 20-footer at the last for 59.
The Asian Tour said because preferred lies were in use, the score will not be an official record.
“I knew where I stood once I finished the front nine,” Reed said. “I think that was the biggest thing, getting through hole nine, because that hole is a bear. And knowing what I had coming up on the back nine, I honestly felt like it could have been lower with how good some of those golf shots I hit on that back nine.
“Also to have an opportunity on the last, I knew where I stood after I made the putt on 15, and I didn't tell my caddy or anything until I made the putt on 17, the little 4-footer. I go, hey, guess what? I was like, one more we get 59.
“He's like, well, let's just focus on the tee shot, so he kept my head in it. Kept me focused on what I was supposed to do, and that's take every shot at a time and not worry about what happened in the past, not focus on the future. And I was able to hit two quality golf shots there and roll a nice putt.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Reed Shoots Historic Round at Hong Kong Open.
