FORT WORTH, Texas — The chirping comes at Patrick Reed in waves. On social media. From PGA Tour galleries. From media outlets.
To be fair, much of it is merited. Reed has found himself in the throes of controversy on multiple occasions in recent years, from issues at the University of Georgia to highly-publicized incidents at the 2019 Hero World Challenge and even while on his way to victory at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open.
But when the nine-time PGA Tour winner gets back home with wife Justine and kiddos Windsor-Wells and Barrett, he insists he checks his dastardly persona at the door.
“The other side of Team Reed where we have Justine as the wife and the two little ones, puts perspective on just life in general. I’m fortunate enough to play a sport for a living and to travel the world, see the world but then at the same time, at the end of the day, I go out and play golf and always you can control is what you do on the golf course,” he said in advance of this week’s Charles Schwab Classic in Fort Worth.
“If you go home, it doesn’t matter if I shoot 63 or 73 or 83. When you walk in the door. … you’re their hero. Daddy’s home. They don’t care what happened on the golf course, they are just happy to have me back.”
Reed is nothing if not resilient. His best PGA Tour showings often follow his roughest outings. For example, during the current season, he’s missed three cuts and followed them with these finishes:
• Win at Farmers Insurance Open
• Top 25 finish at The Players Championship
• T-6 at Wells Fargo Championship
He insists his support system helps to keep him level-headed.
Patrick Reed reacts after a putt on the 15th green during the third round of the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Photo by Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
“When you have that, that’s amazing because you’re able to kind of ride the highs but you’re able to keep those in check where they don’t get too high because if you get too amped, it’s very easy to get out of pattern,” he said. “But at the same time, when things are not going your way, they are there to pick you up and kind of put a perspective on life that even though today was a bad day, you still have two little ones and a family to go back to that really aren’t focusing as much on golf and happy to see you.”
And while he has proven through his career that past performance is often an indicator of future success, Reed’s progression at Colonial Country Club suggests he’s ripe for a run at the title.
In his previous starts here Reed has finished 46th, 33rd, 15th and then seventh last year, when he used a third-round 63 to get near the top of the leaderboard.
“That’s the biggest thing out here: Everyone can hit the ball really well and everyone can make putts, but it’s who can mentally hang in there week-in, week-out and who can flip that switch and focus really hard when they are playing and also who can shut it down right afterwards so they can be ready to play each and every week,” Reed said. “I feel like that’s something we’ve been able to do really well and really dialing in the amount of work and the workload that we take on each week so we are fresh come tournament time.
“I’m a grinder. I love to work. I love to be out there grinding and if anything, if I err at all, I’m going to err on the overworking so come tournament time, you’re not fully fresh where you should be.”
List
Check the yardage book: Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge
