Hero World Challenge: Patrick Reed takes three-shot lead as Tiger Woods roars back into contention

Nassau (Bahamas): Patrick Reed maintained his lead with a second successive six-under 66 while tournament host Tiger Woods roared back into contention to be Tied-5th after round two of the Hero World Challenge. Reigning US Open champion Reed surged ahead with a total of 12-under and is three shots clear of the field at the halfway stage. [caption id=“attachment_7747731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Patrick Reed tees off on the par-5 ninth hole at Albany Golf Club during the second round of the Hero World Challenge. AP[/caption] Gary Woodland, who shared the first round lead with Reed, shot 69 after a hat-trick of birdies in the last three holes. However, at nine-under, he slipped to second. Defending champion Jon Rahm (66) and Swede Henrik Stenson (67), two of the three Europeans in this field of 18, shared the third spot at eight-under. Woods shot three birdies and an eagle on the back nine after an ordinary opening day when he played out an even-par 72 to be Tied-11th. The reigning Masters champion played the home stretch in five-under with an eagle thrown in for the second day running. He was Tied-5th with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler at six-under. Reed, who is playing with a new set of irons and a new putter this week, said he made a conscious effort to attack at the Albany Golf Course with the wind not as strong as it was on the opening day. “It’s one of those golf courses that when the wind lays down, it gives you opportunities to make birdies, but when the wind starts blowing, the golf course can get really challenging. It’s just one of these days and one of these weeks that you need to give yourself as many opportunities as you can and play from the short grass because when you do, you can attack,” he said. On his improved effort, Woods said, “I just think it was less windy. It was a little bit easier today. Scoring conditions were a little bit better. I didn’t hit the ball as well as I would like starting out, missed a few greens. Other than No. 2, I missed every green in the correct spot, so I had easy chips and I had to make a couple. But I got it going on that back nine, which is nice.” Woods missed fairways, missed greens and went into the bunker often on the front nine but avoided bogeys to turn in one-under. He found his game on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle in a six-hole stretch between 11th and 16th. The run began with a stunning eagle. He smashed a massive drive that caught the downslope and went further. He then followed it up with a perfect second shot to inside five feet for an eagle putt, which he holed. There were three birdies too on 12th, 14th and 16th for five-under 31 back nine and a bogey-free 66. Rahm seeking a third win in as many starts shot a bogey-free 66. He has won three times this year and a win this week would make it the best season of his career, as he was also European Tour No. 1. To top it all he gets married next week in Bilbao. Reed, who has three Top-5s in five starts in the Hero World Challenge, is 12-under 132. He tied the lowest 36-hole score in the event since the move to Albany in 2015 and now shares it with Dustin Johnson (2016), Hideki Matsuyama (2016) and Charley Hoffman (2017). Reed was runner-up in 2015. Reed has won each of the four times he has held the 36-hole lead.