Golf roundup: Patrick Reed leads after first round of HSBC Champions

Patrick Reed lines up a putt Thursday at Sheshan International Golf Club during the first round of the HSBC Champions, a World Golf Championship. Reed shot an 8-under-par 64 and led by two strokes.
Patrick Reed lines up a putt Thursday at Sheshan International Golf Club during the first round of the HSBC Champions, a World Golf Championship. Reed shot an 8-under-par 64 and led by two strokes.

SHANGHAI - Patrick Reed had a Ryder Cup he'd like to forget and spent three weeks at home in Texas preparing to finish the calendar year strong.

He was at his best Thursday in the HSBC Champions.

Even in blustery conditions, Reed putted for birdie on every hole at Sheshan International Golf Club and closed out his bogey-free round with a 25-foot birdie putt for an 8-under-par 64, giving him a two-shot lead over Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele after the opening day of 2018's final World Golf Championship.

"It felt really good," Reed said, "because if you can go out and shoot rounds like that in these kind of conditions, you know you're going to have confidence when the wind dies down and there are perfect conditions out there."

Schauffele also managed a bogey-free round in wind strong enough to require a two-club difference at times. He saved par on No. 9 - his final hole - from the right rough with an approach shot that narrowly cleared the water into a patch of fairway short of the green, a pitch-and-run to 10 feet from the cup and another solid putt.

Matt Fitzpatrick had five straight birdies to overcome a rough start and post a 67 that had him alone in fourth.

Brooks Koepka, in his debut at No. 1 in the world, didn't deliver much excitement. He had 16 pars, one bogey and one birdie for a 72, putting him in a big group tied for 27th.

Reed was last seen winning a meaningless singles match in the Ryder Cup after Europe was well on its way to victory against the United States at Le Golf National near Paris. The last he was heard from was a telephone interview with The New York Times an hour after Europe won, blaming Jordan Spieth for them not playing together in the event and U.S. captain Jim Furyk for leaving Reed on the bench twice during the week.

Reed, this year's Masters winner, headed home to Houston, and after a few days of rest, he went right back to work.

"From that point, my coach and I have been out there fine-tuning everything," Reed said. "Just trying to set goals to finish the year off right."

Champ leads

JACKSON, Miss. - Cameron Champ shot a 7-under 65 in wet, windy and unseasonably cool conditions at the Country Club of Jackson to take the first-round lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

On the par-4 18th hole, Champ blasted a 347-yard drive and hit his approach to four feet from the cup to set up his fifth back-nine birdie. The 23-year-old earned his PGA Tour card on the Web.com Tour last season.

Cameron Tringale was a stroke back, and Chad Ramey, Andres Romero, Rory Sabbatini, Robert Streb and D.J. Trahan followed at 67.

Baylor School graduate Harris English (71) was tied for 46th, a stroke ahead of the group tied for 65th that included fellow former Red Raiders standout Stephan Jaeger and Athens, Tennessee, native Eric Axley.

There were still 12 players on the course when play was suspended because of darkness. Seth Reeves was at 5 under through 16 holes.

Shadoff up two

TAOYUAN, Taiwan - Jodi Ewart Shadoff shot a 7-under 65 and held a two-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Shadoff, seeking her first victory on the LPGA Tour, made seven birdies in a bogey-free round at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club.

Haeji Kang and Nelly Korda were tied for second. Like Shadoff, Kang was bogey-free, while Korda eagled the par-5 third hole and added four birdies against a lone bogey.

Ally McDonald offset a double bogey with six birdies and was a stroke further back with Moriya Jutanugarn, Wei Ling Hsu, Jeong Eun Lee and So Yeon Ryu.

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