Patrick Reed Wins the 2014 Humana Challenge

Photo by @golfchannel

Not many people picked Patrick Reed to win this week, us included, but the young emerging star certainly did so in style, setting a PGA TOUR record for most strokes under par after 54 rounds (27-under through the first three rounds).

Although the winner slipped through our grasp this week, our fantasy predictions staff still managed to put together a no-cut week with total picks earnings of $558,791.  This includes Zach Johnson, who remains the hottest player on TOUR, stringing together a memorable charge Sunday, firing a 10-under 62 and ultimately falling just short of Reed.

Early in Sunday’s round it seemed like Patrick Reed had lost his putting stoke a bit, a concerning detail given how he’d been throughout the week. Fortunately for him, his stroke turned back up again later in the round when it mattered most.  As noted earlier, Reed had dominated the first three rounds, carding three straight 9-under 63s to give him a commanding 7-stroke lead going into the final day.

“It was tough out there,” Reed said after finishing his round on Sunday. “I started toward the end playing for par, just because I knew pars weren’t going to hurt me.  I knew someone was going to have to do something spectacular to catch me.”

Reed dunked an 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 15th to take a three-stroke lead.  He then went on  to par the final three holes of play. In the end, Reed’s 28-under 260 was enough to seal the deal on the 2014 Humana Challenge.

The 23-year-old has two victories in his first 46 PGA Tour starts (his first came at the Wyndham Championship in August). After Sunday’s win it’s rumored that Reed will jump from 73rd to 42nd in the world rankings, which may just be enough to secure a spot in next month’s 64-man Match Play Championship field.

Also of note was Ryan Palmer, who also came up just short after he draining a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a 63 to finish 2 behind Reed for a solo second place finish. Zach Johnson and Justin Leonard finished T3 at -25 to round up the top three.

With the win, Reed jumps 96 spots to No. 8 on the FedExCup points leaderboard.

Next week the TOUR shifts to Torrey Pines where Tiger Woods will attempt to defend his title while making his 2013-2014 season debut.  Be sure to check back Tuesday for our fantasy predictions and full preview for this exciting late January event.

Patrick Reed claims victory at Humana Challenge

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