Barclays Golf 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

If the first round of the 2016 Barclays is any indication, the first event of the FedEx Cup should be a nail-biter.

Patrick Reed and Martin Laird share the first-round lead after posting five-under scores of 66, but the real story is the tightly packed field at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. Thirty-two golfers are within four strokes of the lead, and 50 are sitting at even par or better. 

Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Chappell, Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes are sitting in a tie for third place after posting rounds of four under. 

Reed’s five-under should help assuage concerns about his Ryder Cup status. The 26-year-old sat eighth in Ryder Cup points coming into this week, which would have locked him into the United States’ team.

“Of course it’s on my mind,” Reed said, per Alex Myers of Golf Digest. “But really at the end the day, it’s just trying to get better and play this tournament. Because if I play well that means those other guys are going to have to play even better to try to catch me.”

Starting on the back nine, Reed carded 10 straight pars before he kicked his game into high gear on the front. He recorded his first birdie on the par-four second, rolling in a 10-foot birdie putt. A 312-yard drive and well-placed approach left him 16-plus feet away from eagle on the par-five fourth, and he knocked it down to move to three under.

Reed’s strong putting continued with a birdie on No. 4 …

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