A highlight at the perfect moment, Patrick Reed wins the Northern Trust

JERSEY CITY – It was as before for Patrick Reed, who triumphantly stood on the 18th green at Liberty National Golf Club as scattered cries of " Captain America ”rang out.

Sunday was the first time since Reed & # 39; s last win, at the Masters of 2018, that he entered the final lap with the lead. Reed, who closed with a two-under 69 for a total of 72 holes from 16 under 268, naturally said that Georgia was at his head.

He signed at the moments in Augusta National where he had to endure the indictment of other players. But that experience wasn't Reed & # 39; s touchstone for winning a single blow to Abraham Ancer at The Northern Trust this weekend in the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events.

Two years ago, Reed helped the United States to win the Presidential Cup on the same course by setting a 3-1-1 record against the International team. From the first tee shot on Sunday, Reed & # 39; s final group link with Ancer from Mexico felt like a taste of this year's Presidential Cup, which will be held in Australia in December.

There were spectators who cheered for 28-year-old Ancer in Spanish and others rooted for 29-year-old Reed in New Jersey. "You know you have a lot of fans behind you, as the US man on the tee-box," Reed said, "and seeing how well they not only respected me, but how much they embraced and respected him was great to be

Ancer shot two of the last three holes to slip into Harold Varner III, whose band for third place with Jon Rahm in Spain was his best show ever on the tour. a 68 for a total of 72 holes from 14 under and helped him from 102 in the FedEx Cup rankings to 29th place, the biggest improvement of any player.

The Varner season is not the only thing has just been stretched like a piece of salt water taffy.With second place, Ancer finished a spot in his first international team, making him the first player from his country to participate in the event.

Ancer, the week before 67th started in the FedEx Cup rankings, needed a solid show to extend his run for at least another week. With his second place he won places in the 70-man BMW championship on the outskirts of Chicago, starting Thursday, the 30-man Tour Championship next week and next year's Masters, where he will make his debut.

When Ancer caught all the benefits of second place, he let go of his disappointment about missing his first PGA Tour victory. It was his fourth close call of the season, after previous finishes in fourth, fifth and eighth place.

"I was like:" Man, this is not so bad, "Ancer said." I am extremely happy, proud of the way I performed today. "

He added: "I clearly still want that & # 39; W & # 39; but really proud of all the boxes I checked today. "

It was Reed & # 39; s seventh PGA Tour title and his second FedEx Cup-playoff victory, after The Barclays in 2016. The title put an end to a torturing 16-month drought between his victory at the Masters and his return to the Sunday winners' circle.

He had expected his first major title to bring him to a higher level of consistency and regularly But after chasing his Masters victory with a fourth at the United States Open, Reed did not finish in the top 9 in his next six big starts – and missed the cut twice.

Some of the first big winners are complacent. Not Reed, who said, "I felt that I was doing almost the opposite. I almost felt that I was pushing harder and working harder and trying harder."

All ext The time and effort he earned was fatigue. After he got the cut at the P.G.A. had missed Championship on Bethpage Black on Long Island, Reed decided that his terrible results required drastic measures.

He put his clubs away for ten days and took a two-week vacation to the Hamptons with his wife, Justine, and their two small children. On the last four days of their stay, Reed resumed golf with a friend, Jimmy Dunne. He expected to feel rusty, but on his first hole back, at the National Golf Links, he rode a par 4 and drank down the eagle pit.

"I played before I was actually grinding," Reed said.

He has become hot at the perfect moment. With the win, Reed, who has four top 10 finishes, jumped to number 2 in the FedEx Cup rankings behind the world number 1, Brooks Koepka, and directly to Rory McIlroy, who has two wins, including the signature of the tour event and 13 top 10 finishes.

Reed has not yet taken a place in the US Presidential Cup team, which will be captain of Tiger Woods. He still has some work to do: he is 12th in the points classification and the top eight will be named to the team at the end of the BMW championship. Woods uses discretionary choices to complete the team.

"I saw the Statue of Liberty in every hole and let the fans scream & # 39; Captain America & # 39; and & # 39; USA & # 39; all week," Reed said. "But the biggest thing for me was just leaving that behind me and just concentrating on the wave I play, because in the end, if you play well, it will all take care of itself."