Reed’s only birdies were a 20-foot putt on the second hole and a simple up-and-down on the par-5 10th. He fell behind Joakim Lagergren on the front nine, but the Swede needed four bogeys over his final eleven holes to fall back.
Reed was at 14-under 202, two shots ahead of former British Amateur champion Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark, who had a 68.
Reed hit just one of the par 5s at Doha Golf Club, a three-putt par from 35 feet on the final hole. It was the control of his game, especially the irons, that satisfied him.
“I felt like I hit the ball better today than I did the last two days… well, really compared to yesterday, and two shots worse. So it’s an interesting game,” Reed said. “The golf game feels good, it feels solid, it feels stable and I just have to go out there tomorrow and keep my foot on the gas.”
This is the 35-year-old American’s fourth straight week in the Middle East, a career-changing month for the former Masters champion.
Reed won the Dubai Desert Classic against a strong field for his first European tour title, revealed he had not yet renewed his deal with Saudi-funded LIV Golf and subsequently left the competition when he could not agree a new contract.
All this means that Reed lost in a play-off in Bahrain last week and is now one round away from another European tour title that would put him at the top of the Race to Dubai and move him into the top 20 of the world rankings for the first time since September 2021.
He would also virtually secure a 2027 PGA Tour card from the 10 leading players on the European tour who had not yet been exempt. Reed would come close to the points total that earned a PGA Tour card last year, and he still has four majors and five Rolex Series events to play.
The PGA Tour has said Reed could return as early as September, a year after his last LIV event.
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