Patrick Reed holed an impressive putt in the four-man playoff on Sunday to claim victory at the LIV Golf in Dallas. It marked his first win on the Saudi tour, as well as in his home state of Texas. Two birds with one stone. The San Antonio golfer was visibly emotional at the finish. It’s not common. We are used to the image of a Reed as tough as steel, fierce in competition and even with a touch of arrogance. It has always been this way.
Moreover, his great virtue is overcoming adversity. The more criticism he receives, the better he plays. The more times he is labelled a cheat (his past in this regard is quite murky), the higher he finishes in tournaments. Reed has always competed with soul and heart, every week, that is undeniable, but his subsequent interactions with other players and the press have usually been cold and distant. It was perhaps his way of getting revenge. That feeling that he has always had to do more than others to claim attention.
He still has the ‘manoeuvre’ of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas at the Ryder Cup in Paris in 2018 stuck like a dagger. He had formed an extraordinary partnership with Spieth in 2014 and 2016, they were the times of Captain America, but in France, the two friends decided to play together and left Reed hanging. These things have forged an almost vengeful spirit in the 2018 Masters champion, although it is also very true that over the years he has softened.
That’s why, yesterday, his response was very surprising when asked what he was thinking when he made the winning putt in the playoff. A putt of about four and a half metres. “I looked at my putter — in fact, it’s my daughter’s putter, it’s her head, and it has ‘Windsor-Wells’ written all over it — and I said: ‘Come on, darling, we have to make one.’ That ball going in meant a lot, not just for the win, but for having made several changes in the bag ahead of the Open. Winning on a course like this and with this level of players gives me all the confidence in the world for what’s to come,” Patrick explained. Windsor-Wells, by the way, is his daughter’s name. No one saw it coming. For those who still thought Reed’s heart was made of steel.
Joking aside, the reality is that Reed has lifted a weight off his shoulders with his victory. He needed 41 tournaments in LIV to lift his first trophy. “I don’t like hearing that number at all. I feel it was too long, but being able to tick off two things at once — winning for the first time in LIV and doing it in my state — means a lot. I feel like I’ve been chasing this victory for a while. I’ve been playing solidly. Even today, you always have to deal with adversity in any tournament. The key is how you respond and face it. Luckily today I was able to straighten the course, get into the playoff and hole that putt at the end.”
In this regard, Reed assures that one of the key moments was when he made par on the 12th hole after missing the tee shot. “I was considering hitting an impossible shot over a tree, but my caddie suggested that the best thing was to play it safe and rely on our short game. We did that, I left myself a third shot of 150 yards and managed to make the approach and putt. That gave me confidence. My game was still there.”
Reed has also confessed that his desire is to be in the Ryder Cup. He knows that with his victory in Dallas he has taken a step forward, but he still has much to prove. He should at least win again in LIV and perform very well in the Open Championship, as well as in the DP World Tour events he plays (this week he is at the BMW International Open) to have a chance with Keegan Bradley. We don’t know if he will achieve it, but what no one doubts is that he will give his all and put his heart into achieving it.
