In-form Patrick Reed ready to rumble at Tanah Merah

SINCE touching down in Singapore on Monday, American golfer and former Masters champion Patrick Reed has played just 27 holes in practice rounds on Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course, the venue for the Asian Tour’s S$1.5 million International Series that tees off on Thursday (Aug 11).

At the pro-am event on Wednesday, the 32-year-old Reed displayed the type of focus, concentration and deep desire that saw him tame the course on a hot and humid day, bagging 7 birdies for a seven-under 65.

That masterly effort saw him billed as the favourite to triumph at the end of the 4-day tournament on Sunday. But Reed, who recently joined the lucrative Saudi-backed LIV Golf series, wants to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground.

“Just another day on the golf course,” he said when asked to assess his superlative showing on the course on Wednesday. When another journalist asked him to describe the course, he simply said: “Nice layout, pristine condition, and the greens are fast but true.”

He went on to say: “I birdied par-fives, par-fours and par-threes and there’s a nice ring to that. Looking forward to Thursday.”

Reed is paired with Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and South Aftrica’s Justin Harding in the first round of the International Series, which begins just after 12 pm.

Also looking forward to the main event are a pair of formidable South Koreans, whose penchant for success remains high. Sihwan Kim, the Tour’s Order of Merit leader, was born in Seoul but has since moved to the United States. The 33-year-old has already bagged more than US$500,000 in career earnings and is set to give Reed a run for his money.

In the same frame of mind is Bi-o Kim, who is also from Seoul and is currently second on the prize-money list with US$414,000. Kim, who turns 32 later this month, made a good impression on Wednesday from the first tee-off (par-four hole 12) when he made a brilliant approach from the left rough and sank the six-foot putt for a birdie, the first of five.

Introduced to the game by his father when he was 9 years old, Bi-o is different from many golfers in the sense that he doesn’t work with a swing coach but prefers to figure things out on his own.

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There is a strong contingent from India at the tournament as well, led by last week’s Mandiri Indonesian Open winner Gaganjeet Bhullar and former Singapore Open winner Jeev Milkha Singh.

Thailand always features strongly on the Asian Tour, and their list is packed with stars such as former Singapore Open winners Jazz Janewattanond, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng.

Singapore has a record number of 15 entries, led by 54-year-old veteran Mardan Mamat and 29-year-old Jesse Yap, the only Singaporean to make the cut at last week’s Indonesian Open.

The “dark horse” in Singapore is Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, who has won each of his last two starts - the Mizuno Open and the inaugural International Series England.