Success that leaves a bitter taste

a bittersweet element to the greatest moment of his career. “I’m just out here to play golf and try to win tournaments,” said Reed, bluntly.

He is a fine all-round golfer and a street-fighter, but personal relationships have never been his strong suit.

He was asked to leave the University of Georgia after being blackballed following allegations of cheating and theft from team-mates.

He denied them but moved on to Augusta State University, where he was a star player but an arrogant one with a gift for rubbing up opponents and team-mates the wrong way, which has never quite gone away in his professional life.

The respective receptions for Reed and Rory McIlroy when they walked to the first tee on Sunday spoke volumes.

“When Rory walked up to the tee his cheer was a little louder,” admitted Reed. “But that played into my hands.

“Not only did it fuel my fire a little bit, it also took the pressure off me and added it back to him. At the same time, you had a lot of guys picking him to win over me, and the more chatter you have in your ear about expectations, the harder it is to play golf.

“I just went out there and tried to play golf the best I could and not worry about everything else.”

Reed’s coach Josh Gregory, who has worked with him since his college days, accepts the Texan is “needy and high-maintenance” but also “misunderstood”.

“You have your good guys and your bad guys, the guys you pull for and the guys you don’t. I can promise you he thrives in the environment of being the villain but he’s far from that,” said Gregory, who was not at Augusta because he was moving house.

“He’s a very simple person who loves to play golf and compete and spend time with his family.

“He’s not a bad guy, he’s not a guy who’s disliked by the players, but even if he was he probably wouldn’t care too much. He’s trying to become the best player in the world.

“That’s been his goal since the first time I met him.” The 27-year-old is unapologetic about his tunnel-vision outlook. He is not playing golf to make friends.

“Golf is such a mental game that standing up on a Sunday in a Major, if you don’t believe in yourself there is zero opportunity that you’re going to win the tournament,” he said.

“I’ve always believed that I have what it takes, it’s just a case of when am I going to break through and get it done.”

He has done now. And the rest of the golf world can go take a running jump.