Former AU golf standouts Reed and Norlander finish first and second at Farmers Insurance Open

By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor

Patrick Reed won the Farmers Insurance Open at the Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif., this past Sunday, Jan. 31.

Reed, a former member of AU men’s golf team (then Augusta State University), finished the tournament 14 under par, shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the last round.  He bested the field by five strokes, giving him his biggest margin of victory in his career and ninth career win. Reed was a member of a Jaguars’ golf team that won two NCAA Division I championships.

In rounds one through three, Reed shot a 64, 72 and 70, entering Sunday tied for first at 10 under with Carlos Ortiz.

“You always know, especially with how stacked that leaderboard was, coming into a Sunday like this, at a golf course like, this you’re going to have to shoot a low number at least to keep yourself in it,” said Reed in an interview with CBS’s Amanda Balionis.

During Saturday’s round, there was some controversy about Reed violating rules. He picked up a ball he stated was embedded, which caused a backlash from players and the media. Despite the issue blowing up overnight, Reed stayed focused. Co-competitor Rory McIlroy had a similar incident.

“My biggest takeaway is that mentally I hung in there and stayed to the course,” Reed told Balionis.

With the U.S. Open taking place on the South Course at Torrey Pines, Reed’s performance gave him a boost.

“It gives me the confidence since I’m going to see it in June in the U.S. Open,” said Reed. “I think the biggest was I’ve seen a lot of great things with the work that my coach David Leadbetter and Sean Hogan have been able to do with me, and I’ve seen it in spurts. To see it actually hold up on a Sunday which honestly this is probably the first Sunday that I had nerves going throughout the day.”

Back in 2018, Reed won the Masters Tournament, giving Augusta its first and only former player to win the tourney.

Chris Gay, the varsity baseball coach and director of communications at Augusta Prep, covered the AU golf team during his 20-year tenure with the Augusta Chronicle from 1998-2018. He not only got to see Reed during his collegiate career but was also in attendance with his wife at the 2018 Masters.

“I knew he was going to win the green jacket before we even stepped foot on Augusta National Golf Club,” said Gay. “His intestinal fortitude may be the greatest in the game. So on that Sunday afternoon when there were roars coming from several different locations on the back nine, he never wavered. I wasn’t surprised.”

Reed started his collegiate career at the University of Georgia but was dismissed from the team his freshman year, leading him to transfer to Augusta. He only played two seasons at AU, helping the Jaguars win back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2010 and 2011. The two national championships are the only team national championships out of any sports at Augusta. 

“The thing that makes Patrick’s golf game so impressive is his killer instinct,” said Gay. “He believes in himself and in his game so much when he’s playing that he’s able to block out any distractions and focus solely on what’s in front of him.”

Another AU alumnus competed in the tournament as well in Henrik Norlander, who finished tied for second place.

Norlander, who’s originally from Danderyd, Sweden, was a three-time All-American and also Reed’s teammate at Augusta for two seasons. He had a longer tenure with the Jaguars than Reed, playing all four of his collegiate years here from 2007-2011. 

“When Augusta won its national championships in 2010 and 2011, it was because Henrik was also one of the greatest players in the game,” said Gay. “He was Augusta’s No. 1 golfer at the 2010 NCAA Championship because he was straight off the tee and seemed to hit every green.”

Norlander finished in a five-way tie for second Sunday, shooting 9-under par with a last round of 3-under. He moved up 10 spots in the last round after shooting a 69. In rounds one through three he shot 73, 69 and 68, respectively. 

“Because of his accuracy off the tee, he’s going to have an opportunity to contend in a lot of tournaments and hopefully bring home a major or two,” said Gay.  

Gay has covered several players in the area who went on to play on the PGA Tour and had no doubt when he observed Norlander and Reed’s talents during their collegiate careers that they’d make the PGA tour and be successful. 

He believes both men not only helped each other grow but other players on the national championship teams as well.  

“Whether they’ll say it or not, they made each other better,” Gay said. “And I believe their competitiveness helped make the entire team better.” 

Gay spoke about how important it was for the university to have two players of their caliber come through Augusta.

 “Having Henrik and Patrick on the same team, especially for a small school like Augusta, was like hitting the lottery twice,” he said. “Will it ever happen again? Who knows? But we can appreciate what the Jaguars once had.”

 Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.