During Golf Channel’s coverage of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Patrick Reed’s chip-in birdie at 13 was named the “shot of the day.” They chose the right player, but the wrong shot.
That’s because a few holes later, at the 17th, Reed nailed a 6-iron from 210 yards that found nothing but the bottom of the cup for eagle and is destined for a spot in ESPN SportsCenter’s top-10 plays.
Eagle looked to be a long shot when Reed flared his drive at the par 5 into a penalty area and took a drop. The ball rolled too far so he was able to place it and despite standing on the cart path, Reed drilled a beauty that landed just short of the hole and took one hop and dropped for a 3 on the scorecard. Reed smiled wildly and tipped his cap.
After the round, he explained that he stood on the tee with his coach Kevin Kirk, who is filling in as Reed’s caddie this week for regular bagman Kessler Karain, and debated teeing off with a 3-iron or a driver.
Are you serious? 🤯@PReedGolf drains it for eagle. pic.twitter.com/gYRIU8IQ8w
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 28, 2021
“My coach and I were thinking, well, if I tee it down, driver, hit a little cut,” he said. “Overcut it in the hazard, took a drop and we had 210 flag, 204 cover on the line and I was thinking with how much wind was blowing, hit 7-iron. And KK was like, no, downwind, how hard it’s been blowing, the ball hasn’t really been traveling, into the wind’s getting killed. He said, ‘I like the 6, it’s a perfect 6.’ So I went with a 6 and I flushed it and it went in.”
That it did. Kirk was right: 6-iron was the perfect club.
Reed, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 24 in the world, started quickly with four birdies in his first five starts. It was a rollercoaster round that included six birdies and an eagle. A bogey at the last and Reed signed for 3-under 68. He hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish in his nine starts, dating to the Memorial in early June when he finished T-5.
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