Kristoffer Reitan, 28, kept himself in the hunt at the Cadillac Championship on Friday, tying for second at 9 under after three rounds and sitting six shots behind 54-hole leader Cameron Young. The reitan golfer from Norway arrived in the field only after a last-minute chain of withdrawals, then backed it up with a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Thursday.
Reitan said he was “very, very pleased” with the round and called the day “very, very difficult” because of the wind on a course that was already tough to begin with. He added that he was happy with the way he worked his way around it. The opening round mattered because he had only just forced his way into the tournament after Patrick Cantlay withdrew with illness, moving Reitan to first alternate, and then Jake Knapp pulled out about an hour before his tee time Thursday with a sprained thumb.
The week had already turned unusual before Reitan ever hit a competitive shot. After the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he and Kris Ventura finished tied for second, Tim Poyser flew home to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Reitan had planned a Tuesday practice round at Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens with Rasmus Højgaard, Marco Penge and Ventura. That round was canceled once Cantlay’s withdrawal bumped him into the field. Then, with Poyser away, Denny Lucas carried his bag Thursday before Poyser returned Friday and resumed caddie duties for the rest of the week.
Reitan made birdie on No. 12 with an 8-foot putt and again on No. 16 from 6 feet, part of a week in which he said the emotions had been moving fast. He described it as “a little bit of a whirlwind emotion-wise” and said he was mainly happy to be there and get a chance in one of the Signature Events, calling whatever happened this week a bonus. The result left the Norway native in a strong position after three rounds, even if Young still held the clear edge at Doral.
That is the tension in Reitan’s week: he entered late, changed caddies in the middle of it and still stayed near the top on one of the hardest setups on the schedule. The scorecard says the opening was no fluke, but the margin to catch Young is large enough to leave little room for error.
