Hong Kong Open: dominant Reed strolls to title, equals record for lowest score at Fanling

Patrick Reed strolled to the Link Hong Kong Open title on Sunday, equalling the tournament’s lowest total on his way to three-shot win over defending champion Ben Campbell.

A four-under-par 66 took the American to 22 under for the four rounds, the same number as Ian Poulter’s winning score in 2010, when preferred lies were also the order of the day.

Reed laid the foundations for his win with a 59 on Saturday, but Campbell, who started the day five behind, was always likely to put up a fight, and a 65 saw him finish on 19 under for the second year running. Kazuki Higa was alone in third a shot further back after a 63.

Last year, Campbell’s score was enough for a one-shot victory over Cameron Smith, this time the New Zealander’s opponent was so far ahead, Reed even had the luxury of taking his foot off the gas with four holes to go.

“The biggest thing for me was separating myself from the field early,” Reed said. “We didn’t want to give them [his rivals] any oxygen, any confidence. I didn’t want anyone to think they had a chance.”

Any hope playing partners Rashid Khan and Nitithorn Thippong had of catching Reed were quickly snuffed out. The LIV player rattled off a run of four birdies from the par- 5 third, and the challenge dropped away, with Khan and Nitithorn carding par and one over on Sunday.