The unpopular Masters champion
Missteps have tarnished image of USA’s Reed
AUGUSTA, Ga. – One of hardest things to do in golf is protect a lead in the final round of a major championship and particularly at the Masters, where the pursuers are free to fire at Sunday flags and the roars cascading through the pines at Augusta National are like punches to the solar plexus.
First Jordan Spieth and then Rickie Fowler threw everything they had at Patrick Reed, who had proved himself in the caldron of Ryder Cup but had yet to win a major.
Reed never lost his cool, never lost his lead — though Spieth did briefly tie him — and made clutch putt after clutch shot to win. He was magnificent in winning his first major even if his score (71) didn’t compare with Spieth’s 64 or Fowler’s 67.
If we’re going to be honest, though, the Augusta National membership probably would have preferred to see defending champion Sergio Garcia put the green jacket on Rory McIlroy in Butler Cabin.
McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, started the day three shots behind Reed. He was
trying to become the first European to complete the Grand Slam and is one of the most popular players in the world. But he came out inexplicably flat and shot a 74.
“It’s kind of like he put his golf outfit on today and it just didn’t fit,” CBS analyst Nick Faldo said of McIlroy, who made five bogeys and only one birdie after No. 4.
Where Reed fits among the luminaries who have won the Masters, meanwhile, is open to debate. His scrappiness is unquestioned; he’s a Ryder Cup hero with a 6-1-2 record; and at 27 he probably has more major titles in his future. But it’s also fair to point out that he has a checkered past and brings baggage to the Champions Locker Room.
Asked Saturday about his detractors on social media, Reed said, “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask them? I mean, I have no idea and, honestly, I don’t really care what people say on Twitter or what they say if they are cheering for me or not cheering for me. I’m out there to do my job, and that’s to play golf.”
In his book Slaying the Tiger, author Shane Ryan details how Reed was dismissed from the University of Georgia golf team; the school never explained why, and Reed has denied allegations that he cheated during practice rounds and stole money from his teammates.
After transferring to Augusta State in
2009, Reed again was accused of turning in lower scores than he shot in practice rounds. What’s undisputed is that he went 6-0 in his NCAA matches and helped the Jaguars win national titles in
2010 and 2011.
After he earned his third tournament win on the PGA Tour at age 24, he was panned when he said, “I believe I’m one of the top five players in the world. I don’t see a lot of guys that have done that besides Tiger Woods and the legends of the game.”
Does he regret that comment now? “Honestly, I never regret anything I ever say,” Reed said. “I stand by my comments. I feel that I’ve played some golf I need to play in order to get where I want to be and that’s to be the best golfer in the world.”
In November 2014, a microphone caught Reed uttering a gay slur in frustration after missing a putt at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. He apologized on Twitter.
He has been estranged for several years from his family. At the 2014 U.S. Open, police escorted his parents, Bill and Jeannette, off the grounds at Pinehurst and the USGA confiscated their badges. Jeannette said Reed was acting on the wishes of his wife and former caddie, Justine.
Asked Sunday if it was bittersweet not to share his Masters victory with his parents, Reed said, “I’m just out here to play golf and try to win golf tournaments.”
Ouch. But enough of that. Let’s give Reed the credit he deserves for performing so well on Masters Sunday.
“It’s very difficult to start from the lead Sunday at Augusta, especially a three- or four-shot lead,” Spieth said. “You are expected to win. And that’s a very difficult thing to sleep on.”
Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, started the day nine shots back but put together an incredible run with nine birdies in the first 16 holes.
After a slow start, Fowler made a spirited run with birdies on Nos. 8, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 18 to put pressure on Reed, who had to par the final hole to win and did, nudging a ticklish 20-foot downhill putt 3 feet past the hole and then rolling in the winner.
“You had to birdie the last, huh?” Reed said to Fowler as they hugged before Reed went in to sign his score card.
“Patrick, he’s not scared,” Fowler said. “I think you guys have seen that previously from the Ryder Cups and the way he plays. He’s not scared on the golf course. He’ll play aggressive. He’ll play his game. He won’t back down. I don’t necessarily see him as someone that backs up and will let you come back into the tournament. You have to go catch him.”
They tried, and couldn’t.
And so Reed has his green jacket. We’ll see how well it fits.
D’Amato is a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.