Controversial and unpopular… but Reed entertains
If Captain America and Rory McIlroy reproduce the 2016 Hazeltine scrap, it will be an epic finale
Patrick Reed’s battle with Rory McIlroy at Hazeltine two years ago produced one of the most entertaining holes in Ryder Cup history. At the eighth in their singles match, emotional incontinence seized both players. It was glorious – and would look even better on a back nine at the Augusta National, where golfers tend not to cup their ears and bawl, “I can’t hear you” – as McIlroy did to the American crowd in Minneapolis.
Reed is variously known as Captain America (for his talismanic Ryder Cup contributions) and American Badass for breaches of etiquette, none of which would count as “breaches” in most other sports.
An adventurous choice of trouser shade is enough in golf to earn you the tag of “eccentric” or “maverick.” Reed is plainly unconventional and has a controversy hanging over him from his college days, but his cockiness is often just self-belief.
Reed loves a clash, a ding-dong, as he showed when Rory McIlroy eagled the eighth hole here to draw level with him on nine under par. Captain America birdied eight, nine and 10 to open a three-shot lead over his sparring partner, before bogeying 12 but landing eagles at 13 and 15.
On a wet afternoon that dulled the lethal speed of Augusta’s greens, the memory served up images of these two on the eighth green at Chaska, Minneapolis, where McIlroy holed a birdie putt from 40 feet and then reeled around the stage rebuking the audience. Reed, of course, replied in kind, draining his own long putt and then wagged a finger at McIlroy, who turned away grinning. Europe’s best player confessed to being emotionally discombobulated by that duel and lost the match.
Reed was already familiar to Europe’s fans as the defiant punk of America’s team – the hefty, nonCountry Club type who shushed them when they became too bawdy (he later appeared in a photograph with George W
Bush with both doing the same). Ryder Cup attack dog is not the only way Reed wants to see himself, although he does admit to loving match play. “Of course, the Ryder Cup, it gets you kind of high – high adrenalin, just a kind of craziness going on,” he said here on Friday evening.
A winner of five PGA Tour events since 2013, the 27-year-old is a naturally talented golfer who sees his graduation to major winner as a formality. In 2014 he announced: “I have three wins on the PGA Tour. I truly believe that I am a top-five player in the world. I don’t see a lot of guys that have done that besides Tiger Woods and the legends of the game. I believe in myself, especially with how hard I’ve worked.”
But he is no poster boy, and his story is peppered with strange turns and mysteries. In a 2015 ESPN players’ poll he was the second most disliked pro after Bubba Watson. His career has been dogged by allegations, which he denies, of cheating and stealing during his college days. Reed left the University of Georgia under a cloud but insists it was caused by alcoholrelated misdemeanours rather than a theft of money, a watch and a putter that he says he had nothing to do with. In a 2015 interview he said: “None of it’s true, and we have coaches that even back it up. And if any of it was true, then the coaches would know about it.” A University of Georgia coach, Chris Haack, stated he was “not aware of any allegations of cheating or theft against him [Reed], and therefore, allegations of cheating or theft played no role in his dismissal from the UGA golf team.”
There has also been a rift with his parents, who were reportedly not invited to his wedding. Even his coaching set-up throws up irregularities.
On Friday night, with Reed leading after 36 holes, with 24 birdies, his coach, Josh Gregory, flew back to Dallas to move house, telling reporters: “I’m very superstitious and I’ve had this plan for a while. I can’t change plans now.”
Reed was not remotely spooked by being at the top of the leaderboard. He said: “That was always something I thought about ever since I was really small, as a little kid, just growing up through my whole entire life. I don’t know how many times on putting greens I was like, all right, well, this putt is to win the green jacket. “Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them. I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, I can win majors.” Reed had never previously broken 70 at Augusta but came of age as a contender as McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm kept up their pursuit. He says: “I feel like I’ve done all the work. I feel like I know where I need to leave the golf ball and it’s now just going out here and executing the game plan and staying disciplined enough to actually stick to that game plan.”
Up in the Augusta clubhouse, the “masters of the universe” were doubtless wondering how Reed might look in the “green coat” – and how he might conduct himself. Complexity and edge are needed – especially in Masters golf. And another duel with McIlroy will bring them down from the hills to watch.
Reed is no poster boy and his story has been peppered with strange turns and mysteries