Patrick Reed plays steady in first round at Masters

It wasn’t a day of many highlights for Patrick Reed, but he stuck to his game plan and finds himself on the leaderboard after the first round of the Masters Tournament.

Reed shot 3-under-par 69 on Thursday and is in position to contend for the week. His five-birdie, two-bogey day produced the lowest single-round total in Reed’s Masters career, spanning 13 rounds.

The Augusta State product’s previous low was 70, done twice en route to his best Masters finish in a tie for 22nd in 2015.

“It was one of those steady days where you go out and play normal golf and let the birdies come to you,” Reed said. “Around this place, pars are good. I was able to plop myself around and when I had an opportunity I capitalized on it.”

PHOTOS: Pictures from the First Round at Augusta National

He especially capitalized on the par-5s by carding birdies on all four. He rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 2 and knocked a 32-yard approach to two feet on No. 8. He chipped to a few feet for birdie on the 13th and navigated over the right greenside bunker on No. 15 for a seven-foot birdie putt.

Other than a highlight birdie on No. 14, one of the toughest holes Thursday, the round was full of pars and balanced play for Reed, something he’s happy to have in the first round.

“I just think it was a long time coming,” he said. “I felt like throughout the past I’ve hit a lot of really good golf shots here, I’ve played really solid, but I always seem to leave myself just above every hole. With doing that, you have to putt so defensively around here. Going into today and really throughout the round, I felt like I managed that really well.”

Being in the right position showed in Reed’s numbers. He hit 12 of 14 fairways and totaled 26 putts for his most productive round at Augusta National Golf Club entering his fifth appearance.

“I felt like the game plan coming in was where I needed to be,” Reed said. “I felt like I executed pretty solid. Really the only big mistake I made was on 9 with the middle left flag; you just can’t miss left. Besides that, I stuck to my game plan and played some solid golf.”