Reed shoots 65 with little fanfare
Enigmatic golfer tends to channel the darker side of Tiger’s persona
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. Patrick Reed stuffed his tee shot at the par-3 ninth hole — his last hole of the day — and tapped in for a birdie, capping off a scintillating five-under 65. For a brief moment he owned a share of the lead at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol on Friday.
The birdie was met with a smattering of applause.
It was the lowest round of the day at the time, and the gallery was large, but all they had for the 25-year-old from Texas was a smattering of applause.
Perhaps the crowd was all cheered out because Jordan Spieth had just come through, perhaps they weren’t looking at the leaderboard, or perhaps they just weren’t that into Patrick Reed.
Reed isn’t like the game’s other young stars. His physique isn’t pinup material, he’s not a social media star and he doesn’t dress like a golf model. He dresses, instead, like his golf role model: Tiger Woods. And not the way Tiger dresses now, the way he dressed back when he was really Tiger.
Yes, those are pleats in Reed’s pants.
While every player tries to emulate Woods’ golfing genius, Reed seems to channel the darker aspects of the 14-time major winner. His killer instinct. That singleminded focus on destroying your opponent. The twisted logic that one’s sense of self is tied to winning golf tournaments. And that itself is the key to becoming a better person.
There has been plenty written about Reed’s past, much of it still shrouded in mystery. He was kicked off the golf team at the University of Georgia before joining Augusta State University, where he led the team to two national championships. There are published reports of him being, at best, an unpopular teammate during his time at school.
Confidence has never been as issue with Reed. He famously proclaimed himself a Top 5 player after winning the 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship, despite being ranked 44th in the world. He entered this week ranked 14th and hopes to become the fifth firsttime major winner in a row. Major championship success has eluded Reed but he’s coming off his best finish, a tie for 12th two weeks ago at the British Open.
After Friday’s round he was asked if he cares whether people think he’s cocky.
“I appreciate you calling me cocky,” he said. “I don’t really know how to take that one. You have to believe in yourself. If there wasn’t a mic around and you went out and asked every single guy, where do you want to be, they are going to say No. 1 in the world. And if they don’t, then those guys aren’t winning.”
With double Ryder Cup points available at Baltusrol this week, a lot is on the line for the match play stalwart. Reed sits in 11th place on the USA points list and needs to move into the top eight to avoid relying on a captain’s pick to get him to Hazeltine.
British Open champion Henrik Stenson — who lost Reed in singles play at the 2014 Ryder Cup — knows exactly what kind of competitor he’s dealing with. Reed will represent the USA in the Olympics, and, as the 2012 Ryder Cup showed, when national pride is on the line fans have plenty of room in their heart for the fiery Reed.
THE HOLE IS WHERE?
Golf is hard, but for one group on Friday it was unfair. Colt Knost, Joe Summerhays and Yuta Ikeda were the first players on the 10th hole at Baltusrol. After hitting his drive, Knost couldn’t see the green very well through the rain from 210 yards out. He checked the hole location sheet he was given, which had the pin four paces from the left edge of the green. After hitting a good shot, Knost arrived at the green and saw that the hole was actually on the far right side. After making bogey he called over an official and asked what the deal was. Turns out, the hole had been cut in the wrong spot. Every other group was given a revised chart. That was no consolation for Knost who spent all day hovering around the cut line at two-over par.
MORE BEEF!
After walking Tuesday’s practice round with Andrew “Beef ” Johnston it was hard to imagine he’d have any energy left for the championship. Most of the popular players wait until their practice round is over before signing autographs. Not Beef. He signed on every hole and even waved some kids under the ropes so he could sign for them while he was walking down the fairway.