PROFILE
The
Unquiet
American
Love him or hate him, there's no doubting the talent and selfdeprecating humour of Patrick Reed, writes Lewine Mair.
T
here are top golfers who can just as easily bounce in and out of favour as form. Bubba Watson is one example; his friend Patrick Reed another. Though the Americans had previously warned of a certain cockiness on Reed’s part, he could scarcely have gone down better when he was over in the UK for the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles There, everyone found something to admire in this spirited, smiling soul. At the very least, he was more obviously upbeat and entertaining than some among his teammates.
Patrick Reed got his 2014 season off to a flying start with victories at the Humana Challenge in January and the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March 44
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Photography by Getty Images and Charles McLaughlin
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On the Friday of the match, the day when Tom Watson so surprisingly left him and Jonathan Spieth out of the foursomes, Reed was up for a chat after he had finished signing a few autographs. He did not balk at the suggestion that he had a bit of Ian Poulter about him; he could see for himself that they had a deal in common. It is a few years since Poulter said enough to one of the magazine writers to suggest that he saw himself as second only to Tiger Woods. Reed’s equivalent boast came at the start of 2014 when, after bagging three tournaments, he suddenly declared that he was in the top five in
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Reed’s boast came at the start of 2014 when, after bagging three tournaments, he suddenly declared that he was in the top five in the world. He was some way ahead of the Official World Golf Ranking in coming to that conclusion. the world. He was some way ahead of the Official World Golf Ranking in coming to that conclusion but that is where he felt he belonged. Returning to the conversation at Gleneagles, it made sense to ask where he felt stood vis-à-vis Poulter on the Richter-scale of confidence. “If you’re giving Poulter ten out of ten, I’m a ten, too,“ he said cheerfully. Rather more than Poulter, though, Reed has the ability to poke fun at himself. Back in 2013, when Tom Watson, came over to Gleneagles for the Ryder Cup’s ‘Year to Go’ celebrations, the US captain had upset not a few Scots when he advised that the crowd of 2014 would be applauding the Americans’ missed putts. There was none of that when it came to the match but Reed took what banter there was in good heart. In fact, it would be difficult to find 46
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anyone who did not enjoy that moment when he put his finger to his lips to tell the people to shush. “Henrik,” he recalled, “made a big birdie putt and the crowds went wild, which was what I would have expected. “Then I made one on top of him [to draw level] and that’s when I gave them the hush sign. The atmosphere was awesome after that.” Reid won three and a half points in addition to a lot of hearts that week, while he did still more to have people in the UK warming to him when he returned a few weeks later to play in the Volvo World Match Play championship at the London Golf Club. He and his wife, Justine, told how they had watched the tournament on TV on several occasions and had often said to each other that if ever Patrick were invited to play, they would come at once. Justine would explain their ‘feel’ for London. Firstly, they had a cousin in the city and, secondly, Justine had been an avid fan of the late Princess Diana and she and Patrick had retained a big interest in the progress of William and Harry. Reed played some great golf to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to George HKGOLFER.COM
Coetzee. People were interested to see how he would take that defeat and the answer, here, was that he could not have been more sporting. His opponent, he said, had simply played the better golf on the day. He also reiterated that on the strength of his Ryder Cup and World Match Play experiences, he was determined not to be one of those Americans who stuck rigidly to the PGA tour. He wanted to be a world player and, no, the British weather had done nothing to have him wishing he were back in the US sunshine. In truth, he notices the weather less than any American you ever saw. On days when the locals were clad in waterproofs and woolly jackets against the cold, he wore nothing on top beyond a tee-shirt. For that alone, people had a sneaking admiration for the young man. The 27-year-old Justine will tell you that though there have been times when she has winced at some of her husband’s comments, she feels he mostly stays within bounds. “His fiery attitude says how he feels,” she suggests. “It’s hard to be that guy because some people are going to approve and some aren’t. Myself, I like it. “When Patrick made that remark as to how he 48
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was now in the top five in the world,” she continued, “he truly believed that that was where he belonged. He’s only young, but more power to him for showing that kind of confidence. I’m a confident person myself.” Justine made plain that Patrick is nothing if not well-rounded: “He loves all sport, he’s a good cook and he’s willing to try his hand at anything and everything.” When she dropped her nursing career to caddie for him – something she did for a couple of years – she enjoyed the role all the more in that he brought her in on the decision-making. Patrick would seek her advice on everything from clubselection to reading putts in spite of the fact that she had never been anything more than a happygo-lucky high school golfer. “It was because he listened to my opinions that I got better at the job,” she says. “I loved the academic challenges of my nursing career [she completed a dual major in health administration and nursing] and it wasn’t long before I was totally wrapped up in golf’s mental side.” Justine, whose caddying exploits came to a standstill when carrying a 50-pound golf bag had to give way to carrying what would be a seven-
Reed showed a fine sense of humour (top) when he came up against his Ryder Cup adversaries Henrik Stenson, Graeme McDowell, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher; the American was one of the standouts for his side (opposite), showing a passion at Gleneagles that few could match HKGOLFER.COM
In truth, Reed notices the weather less than any American you ever saw. On days when the locals were clad in waterproofs and woolly jackets against the cold, he wore nothing on top beyond a tee-shirt. For that alone, people had a sneaking admiration for the young man.
Reed and his wife Justine, who was also his caddie, celebrate with the Wyndham Championship trophy after his victory over Jordan Spieth in suddendeath last year 50
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pound baby, suggests that she was as well-placed as anyone to keep her husband’s temperament in check. “If he was being a bit hot-headed I’d tell him to cool down,” she laughed. “I would say exactly what needed to be said.” And she was saying what needed to be said when it came to the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and Patrick suddenly lost his cool and was captured by the cameras in the process. He had taken three putts on the first green, his 10th, on the Thursday, and followed up with a short diatribe which included a couple of words beginning with an “F”, both too unlovely to bear repetition. CNN had picked up very clearly on what he said and made a big thing of it – and soon it was being called 'a homophobic rant’. Almost certainly, the TV people had decided it was the best of follow-on stories to what had happened when Ted Bishop, President of the PGA of America, was sacked for calling Ian Poulter “a squealing little schoolgirl”. (That a man of his age was sending silly messages on Twitter was surely enough of a reason in itself to call for his removal.) Reed was shown the clip and, for advice on what to do next, he went first to his wife and then to Bubba Watson, who knew a thing or two about making a bit of a fool of himself. Watson could only agree that he had messed up. “We all do it from time to time,” he advised. “You need to learn from it.” Thanks not least to Justine and Watson, Reed’s apology was up there with the best. Golf, he said, was a gentleman’s game and he should never have done what he did: “I made a stupid error, that’s for sure. Its hould never have happened.” He blamed no one but himself and, though he reminded his audience that he was still only young, he said that he would indeed be learning from the experience. Justine was not well in China. She had an eye infection which got worse by the day and, by the Saturday night, the doctor was declaring that she needed to go to hospital at once – a good hour away. It was a wintry night when the couple took off by car to the hospital, with Patrick still in a short-sleeved shirt. Where, previously, people had been of the opinion that Justine ruled the roost in their relationship, that evening was altogether different. That Patrick still had a fourth round to play at the Sheshan GC (it would be a 71 which left him in a share of 22nd place), was beside the point. He was only interested in Justine and those who saw him disappearing into the cold night with a protective arm about her shoulders gave a knowing nod. There was no question that Reed had his good side. HKGOLFER.COM