AUSTIN, Texas (AP) One shot into the match, Jordan Spieth already was in a golf cart being driven back to the tee.
It took three holes before Patrick Reed had to putt.
The most anticipated match turned into a sloppy affair Friday when Spieth hit one shot out-of-bounds, two shots into a hazard and three times gave away a chance to win the hole by three-putting.
Article continues below …
And right when it looked as though Spieth might still have a chance, Reed buried him with a 40-foot birdie putt from behind the 17th green for a 2-and-1 victory in the Dell Technologies Match Play that sent Reed into the weekend and Spieth searching for answers.
”I don’t think it would have been that tough to beat me today,” Spieth said.
Reed was tough enough when it mattered. He seized control with the prettiest shot of the match, a knockdown wedge into the wind that grazed the front edge of the cup on the 13th for a 2-up lead. He ended it with a putt that looked as though it might go 8 feet by ..