Reed pips Spieth for Hawaii lead

AFP: Defending champion Patrick Reed eagled the 18th hole on Thursday to pip world number one Jordan Spieth for the first-round lead at the US PGA Tour Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Reed, who has six top-10 finishes in his last six tournaments around the world, played his last six holes in six-under par to seize the lead with an eight-under par total of 65 on the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua.

Spieth, off to a solid start in his mission to carry his scintillating 2015 form seamlessly into the new year, birdied the last to cap a 66.

Both were part of a five-way tie for the lead as they arrived at the par-five 18th, where Reed fired his second shot to 16 feet and made the putt.

New Zealand’s Danny Lee finished tied with Americans Brandt Snedeker and J.B. Holmes on 67, with Argentina’s Fabian Gomez alone in sixth on 68.