Featured Groups: World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship

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THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM Equipment issues. Kidney stones. A Ryder Cup hangover. Awaiting the birth of his second child, a son, in December. Life seemed to catch up to Patrick Reed last season. He came down from his electrifying Singles victory over Rory McIlroy, one of the most indelible moments in golf in 2016, and last season failed to win a tournament for the first time since he started on TOUR in 2013. At eighth in the Official World Golf Ranking when he traveled to Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, Reed dropped out of the top 20. Still, it was hardly a lost cause for the five-time winner Reed, 27, who showed signs of his old self with a tie for second at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, ensuring he would make his second Presidents Cup team. He advanced all the way to the TOUR Championship and finished 22nd in the FedExCup. And in compiling a 3-1-1 record, mostly with his usual wingman, Jordan Spieth, Reed was back to his old self for the U.S. Team’s easy victory at Liberty National.  If the positive trend continues, the 2018 season will see Reed and his wife, Justine, adjusting to being the parents of two, and Reed resuming his winning ways. These things take time, but such incandescent talent usually wins out in the end. Oh, and there’s always another opportunity to represent his country, this time in Paris. Imagine the kind of fun Reed could have in the City of Lights. BY THE NUMBERS How Patrick Reed ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 95th Playoff appearances: 5 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 3rd (2016) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Patrick Reed in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill Captain America is still searching for a way to bring his team golf mentality to individual tournaments and if he ever does succeed in that mission, he will be the ultimate force to be reckoned with. For now, he is still an enigma. Brilliant some rounds and weeks and not so much the next. Made a late-season push in 2017, almost winning the PGA Championship, but then was unable to really press it forward in three fall starts. The talent is clearly there, but will we see enough of it? Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton When you look at the numbers, it’s confounding that he’s rarely inside the top 10 in ownership percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. That he averages in the high 20s for starts per season does dilute his dispersion, but he’s as dependable as it gets. Instead, the upset is that Captain America didn’t crack the top 15 in this month-long series. Full-season gamers usually pull the trigger at some point around 10th overall since he’s averaged one top-25 in every two starts over the past four seasons. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Reed has alternated drivers between Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816 DDD and GBB Epic Sub Zero. Inserted a Titleist 716 T-MB 2-iron during the Wells Fargo Championship. Chose Callaway’s Chrome Soft ball because he picked up 10-12 yards with it off the tee. Callaway MB1 irons are the commercialized version of the company’s RAZR X Muscleback designed for better players who prefer workability over forgiveness. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Reed takes a no-frills approach to his style. He tends to favor high contrast looks by frequently playing bright red off of black and navy blue. If I had to give Reed two New Year’s fashion resolutions, one would be to eliminate contrast by matching his belt to his trousers. The other would be to push the boundaries of his comfort zone by adding new colors to his wardrobe. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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HONOLULU – Former FedExCup champion Justin Thomas will likely not be repeating his Hawaii double from three years ago after projecting towards a missed cut on Friday. RELATED: Leaderboard | Players to Watch in 2020: Justin Thomas Thomas was one shot better than Thursday as high winds continued to buffet Waialae Country Club but his 72-71 start left him 3 over and projected a shot or two outside the likely cut. A winner a week ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, his 12th TOUR win, Thomas was hoping to have history repeat in Honolulu. Three years ago after winning in Maui he opened with a 59 at Waialae before going on to win in record fashion. Wet and windy conditions have ensured there will be no scoring records this time around but Thomas was still disappointed to fall out of contention. While he admitted the near 40 mph gusts make things hard, he still felt like a better performance could have been forthcoming. “I played like crap so I deserve to have a weekend off … it’s pretty terrible to miss the cut here the way I’ve been playing,â€� Thomas said. “Everybody had to play (in the wind) so there’s no excuse. If anything I should have had an advantage, I had a week in it last week to get ready for it if you will. I just wasn’t sharp, making some mental mistakes, I just really struggled.â€� Thomas – who had been proud of his ability to stay focused on the greens in Maui – said he couldn’t maintain the same execution this week. When he signed his card, albeit with half the field left to finish their second round, Thomas had lost over 4.5 strokes to the field in putting for the week. “I played fine. I played plenty good enough to be at 4- or 5-under and right in contention. (But) I missed about every putt,â€� he confirmed. “I think honestly playing the course as often as I have in the past hurt me this year because it’s just so weird the greens being as soft as they are, especially out of the rough when the ball flies as much as it does.â€� It would be the first missed cut for Thomas this season and first since the U.S. Open last June. At this stage Thomas is still projected to maintain the lead in the FedExCup despite the early exit although a few players could steal it from him with a hot weekend.

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