Patrick Reed hit with two-shot penalty at Hero World Challenge

Patrick Reed dropped from one shot to three off the lead after his rules infringement in the Hero World Challenge. Picture: Mike Ehrmann/Getty

Reed was penalised for improving his lie in a sanded waste area on the 11th hole on the Albany resort course, though the American claimed he had not intentionally moved sand with a practice swing as he worked out how to play his third shot.

The penalty, which Reed accepted after being shown the incident on TV after finishing his round, dropped the overnight leader three shots behind playing partner Woodland, who finished birdie-birdie to edge ahead of Henrik Stenson.

Woods, a five-time winner of this event, is a shot further back along with European No 1 and defending champion Jon Rahm, as well as Justin Thomas, with Reed next on ten-under after falling foul of Rule 8.1a.

“It was in a full footprint and I felt my club was that far behind the ball when I was taking a practice swing,” he said. “It was obviously hitting a bit of sand, though I didn’t feel any drag.

“But, when they brought it up to me (on the TV), it definitely did drag some of the sand and, because of that, it’s considered a two-shot penalty. I didn’t feel like it would have affected my lie. I think with a different camera angle they would have saw it was not improving the lie as I was far enough away from the golf ball.

“I don’t ever put the club directly behind the ball in a situation like that as I am scared of it moving. Intent is a big part, but with only one camera angle it is a 50-50 battle when you are being assessed for anything like that.

“I told them there was no intent and it was far enough away from the ball, but they didn’t have another camera angle to show that and they felt it might have been improving the lie.”

Reed was informed about the penalty by PGA Tour rules official Slugger White, who said: “You cannot remove or press down loose soil or sand. Intent would not matter here. That’s not in the mix.”

White said Reed could “not have been more of a gentleman” as he accepted the punishment. “At the end of the day, you have got to let things roll off your shoulders and, at the same time, I still have one round to play tomorrow,” said Reed. “They thought that was a breach and, in the Rules of Golf, if you improve your lie, it is a penalty. At the end of the day, you have to accept it and move on.”

Away from the controversy, Woodland, the US Open champion, was pleased with his day’s work as he signed for a 68 to sit on 13-under. “Excited where I’m at and looking forward to tomorrow,” he said, with Stenson feeling likewise as he chases a first win since landing the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour in 2017.

“So far so good,” said the 2016 Open champion from Sweden. “We’ll see if we can carry out another good round tomorrow. I’ve slipped down a little bit in the world rankings, so it would be nice to fill up a few good points here before Santa Claus arrives.”

Woods, the tournament host, signed off with a rare birdie at the 18th here as he carded a 67 to sit ominously placed. “Today was just busting a 3-wood down there and a sand wedge,” he said of his closing 3. “That hole has not been my favorite hole out here, but it was nice to do a little bit better than I did on Thursday (when he ran up a double-bogey 6).”

Looking ahead to the final round, the 14-time major winner added: “I’m going to have to make some birdies again tomorrow. I shot 67, but I left a few out there today. I missed a bunch of putts. In order to win tomorrow, I’m going to have to make my share.