San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Pressure valve: Patrick Reed defends himself after breaking club over his knee.
PEBBLE BEACH — One day after abruptly and cleanly snapping his lob wedge over his knee — an uncommon image alongside the No. 18 green at Pebble Beach, to say the least — Patrick Reed was not exactly contrite.
Reed, last year’s Masters champion and the world’s No. 23-ranked player, didn’t speak publicly after his outburst late Friday. But he did talk to a small group of reporters after shooting 1-over-par 72 in Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open.
Reed called the club-snapping episode “no big deal,” even if the video quickly and predictably went viral.
“At the end of the day, I got my anger out,” he said. “I didn’t do anything to the golf course. I didn’t say any obscenities or anything like that. It was a split second and I moved on.”
This was hardly the first time Reed lost his temper on the course. He berated a camera crew during a European Tour event in Germany last July, after one member of the crew rattled change in his pocket.
Friday’s incident occurred on Reed’s final hole, the par-5 18th at Pebble. His third shot came to rest in the rough behind the green, and then he bounced a wild chip shot into the front rough. Reed flubbed his next attempt, leaving the ball in the rough.
That’s when he suddenly snapped his 61-degree lob wedge over his right knee, much as former baseball majorleaguer Bo Jackson once did with his bat after a strikeout.
“It was comical watching it afterward,” Reed said. “But it wasn’t comical having to go through hitting poor wedge shot after poor wedge shot, especially when I pride myself on my short game and being able to get up and down.”
Reed, who will begin Sunday’s final round at Pebble Beach tied for 48th, referenced other tour pros who have lost their tempers in recent years.
“You have Sergio (Garcia) with what he did on the greens,” Reed said, referring to Garcia’s misbehavior in Saudi Arabia in February. “I’ve seen multiple guys tear up courses, slam clubs. I mean, Rory (McIlroy) threw his club in the water on 8 at Doral (in 2015). …
“Things like that probably shouldn’t happen, but as long as you respect the golf course, as long as you’re not damaging the course or damaging the players you’re playing with, I’d rather let it out than keep it in.”