The 145th Open: Patrick Reed insists 'brutal' back nine is key at Royal Troon
Last Updated: 14/07/16 2:12pm
Patrick Reed believes the back nine will prove crucial during The 145th Open after going round in 66 in his opening round.
The American took the clubhouse lead on five under after a round that included five birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys.
"It's one of these golf courses where you feel like you have to go out and make a ton of birdies early," Reed told Sky Sports. "But at the same time, if you get too aggressive then you can make a lot of big numbers so what I tried to was, I played pretty conservative through the first six or seven holes.
"Then it just happened that I holed out a wedge shot, hit a couple of good iron shots and rolled in a couple of puts. The key this week isn't so much the front as it is the back nine. The back nine here, if it plays into the wind, is brutal."
Reed also spoke of how he feels that competing in last week's Scottish Open has benefited him at Royal Troon.
"It's very important," he added. "It allows you to get a little bit more comfortable because back home everything is carry and spin and over here it is more about keeping the ball down, fighting it but at the same time, you need to get comfortably hitting pitching wedges from 100 yards.
"I think that is the hardest thing for me - hitting something really soft yet really being able to control the trajectory, distance and direction."
Justin Thomas, meanwhile, began his round with four consecutive birdies on his debut at The Open and another gain on the last saw him finish -4.
"It definitely helps, that's for sure," he said of his superb start. "The front nine was definitely scoreable, the wind is in a good direction and it wasn't too heavy so you had to get on those on the front nine.
"I put myself in good spots off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances and it was nice to make the turn like that.
"It was great [to end with a birdie] after I felt like I was grinding throughout the back nine just to salvage pars and bogeys and doubles even.
"I love links golf, I have been fortunate enough to play some events on it and you just have to be creative. You never know what you're going to get with the conditions and so I think in terms of a gameplan and how you're going to attack the course, it changes day to day.
"On a day like today, you can be a little bit more aggressive but that back nine is still really, really difficult and you just have be patient, get the ball on the fairway and try to minimise the mistakes."
