Reed builds 3-shot Bahamas lead as Tiger rallies

Hideki Matsuyama cruised to his third win of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season with five-shot victory at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Matsuyama, who closed out the tournament with a final-round 61, was nearly flawless from tee-to-green — he led the field in Strokes Gained category (plus 14.936) for the tournament — with a mixed setup that includes Callaway, TaylorMade, Honma, Cleveland/Srixon and TaylorMade equipment. Matsuyama made one significant change to his setup at Firestone with the addition of a TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen mallet that replaced the Scotty Cameron GSS Newport 2 Timeless that’s been a mainstay in his bag. During the creation process, Matsuyama requested that the heel, toe and back flange be squared off to fit his eye at address. Introduced last October, the TP Collection Mullen was used briefly by Rory McIlroy during the Travelers Championship. The compact head has a short “S” hosel that allows for a slight toe hang. Matsuyama ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting (plus 3.051) with the new mallet. Here’s a look at the rest of the equipment in Matsuyama’s bag. Driver: Callaway Great Big Bertha (Graphite Design DI-8TX shaft), 9 degrees 3-wood: TaylorMade 2017 M2 (Graphite Design DI-9TX), 15 degrees Hybrid: Honma TW727 U19 (Graphite Design DI-115 Hybrid X shaft), 19 degrees Irons: Srixon Z945 (4-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Wedges: Cleveland Golf 588 RTX 2.0 Precision Forged (52-10, 56-12 and 60-10 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Putter: TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV 5

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – French golfer Victor Perez shot 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on Thursday, with Tommy Fleetwood making the best start of the leading contenders for the Race to Dubai title on the European Tour. Fleetwood, who is No. 2 in the Race to Dubai rankings behind Patrick Reed, rolled in a birdie at the last hole for a 69 and was two shots behind Perez at Jumeirah Golf Estates. RELATED: Leaderboard | PGA TOUR stars line up for shot at Race to Dubai title Reed also birdied No. 18 after an approach to 4 feet and had a bogey-free 70. The fight to be crowned Europe's No. 1 golfer in the 2020 season is wide open, with any of the leading 60 players in the standings mathematically in with a chance of becoming champion because there are so many points at stake in Dubai. Perez started the week at No. 6 in the standings and his impressive first round, during which he made long birdie putts on Nos. 11, 14 and 17, leaves him as the projected No. 1. The putt at the 14th came from off the green, Perez using his 3-wood to roll the ball up the slope and down into the cup. “The position I'm in, I have nothing to lose," Perez said. "I have everything to gain. So for me, it's a ‘going for it' mentality to keep for the four rounds." Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Erik van Rooyen were tied for second place after 68s. Fleetwood, the Race to Dubai champion from 2017, was in a four-way tie for fifth. Collin Morikawa, the U.S. PGA Championship winner, was at even par. He is third in the standings and — like Reed — looking to become the first American to win what was formally known as the Order of Merit title on the European Tour.

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