Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18
Wednesday 8 January 2020

Reed digs

himself

a hole

that will

be hard

to escape

By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
HONOLULU (AP) — Patrick
Reed needed a 12-foot
birdie putt to win at Ka-
palua and return at least
some attention to his bull-
ish brand of golf.
It was an untimely miss in so
many ways.
Not only did it give Justin
Thomas a third chance
in the playoff, which he
won with a sublime sand
wedge to 3 feet for birdie,
it was enough time for one
fan to shout the word that
so many others have only
whispered.
CHEATER!
The man didn't say it until
the putt on the final hole
— a birdie Reed knew he
needed to keep playing —
was halfway to the hole.
But it was ugly.
It was far worse than anoth-
er word often thought but
rarely screamed — choke
— because it speaks more
to character than perfor-
mance. In golf, only one is SPUR TO
fleeting.
Reed glared up at the
stands. NBC announcer
Dan Hicks seized on it im-
mediately, and before
long Golf Channel was roll- ACTION
ing the tape.
Thomas says he heard
nothing, perhaps caught
up in his own duties, which
was making a 3-foot putt Spurs' season-best 3-point
into a strong gust to win
the Sentry Tournament of shooting does in Bucks, 126-104
Champions. Next up for
Reed is the Sony Open this
week in Honolulu, another
chill crowd, though that’s San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan (10) is fouled by Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) during the first half of an NBA
what everyone thought basketball game in San Antonio, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.
about Kapalua. Associated Press
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