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2018 Masters


markstanco

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Why do so many golf fans hate Patrick Reed?

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2018 Masters, is the most controversial man in golf. He’s been disliked from the moment he announced his presence nearly five years ago and hasn’t done much to change opinions since then.

He’s brash and alienating. He can be a troll. He’s the kind of guy who begins sentences with “I’m from Texas.” Britain’s Telegraph named him the most hated player in golf. A 2015 ESPN players poll named him the second most-disliked man on tour (behind Bubba Watson) and that was before many of his shenanigans. He often plays practice rounds by himself and has been known to curse on TV and snap at fans. The fact that wore red on Sundays annoyed fans, either because they thought it was cocky (it was) or derivative (that was the point).

How did it get this way? Why do people hate Patrick Reed?

 

The “top five” comment

Reed won his first tournament just days after his 23rd birthday and, seven months later, had three titles to his name. That got him reflecting on his standing in the golf world.

“I have three wins on the PGA Tour,” he said in 2014 after winning a WGC event. “I truly believe that I am a top-five player in the world.”

He continued. “I don’t see a lot of guys that have done that besides Tiger Woods and the legends of the game. I believe in myself, especially with how hard I’ve worked. I’m one of the top five players in the world. I feel like I’ve proven myself.”

Brash, yes. Overstated? Almost certainly. Reed was 23 and, yes, he was only one of three players to win three events in that time span. But at the time he made the infamous boast, Reed had never played in a major. This was the equivalent of an NBA rookie declaring before the playoffs that he was on the same level as LeBron, KD and Steph Curry. It was the kind of quote that followed him everywhere and was thrown back in his face after every missed cut or weekend blow-up.

There were plenty of those. He missed the cut in five of his next eight tournaments, including at the Masters and British Open, went T35 and T58 at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, respectively, and placed inside the top 10 just two more times that season. Reed put the target on his back and the rest of the golf world was all too happy to take shots.

Since then he’s had up-and-down performances, winning two events, sticking around the top 25 of the rankings and playing on two Ryder Cups teams (more on that later) and a President’s Cup team. But he’s missed five cuts at his 16 majors and, up until his tie for second place at last year’s PGA Championship, had never been inside the top 10.

This is Reed’s first time leading a major and, no doubt, there are people hoping he falls flat on his face.

Arrests, cheating, theft, dismissals and teammate hatred

It’s safe to say most reactions to Patrick Reed inside the golf world are colored by the stories and allegations of his college troubles, which have been reported at length by writers Shane Ryan, Stephanie Wei and Ian O’Connor. They either paint Reed as a true golfing villain, a loner prodigy or an insecure kid who never grew comfortable in his own skin.

Reed, heavily recruited out of his hometown of Augusta, played one year at SEC power Georgia but was dismissed from the team for reasons still unknown. In his book about the PGA Tour, Shane Ryan said there was a code of silence regarding Reed’s time at UGA, describing it as a type of “golf omerta.” Ryan brought up whispers that Reed had cheated on the course during a qualifying round (trying to hit a better-positioned ball that wasn’t his), reported better scores than he’d actually shot and may have stolen from teammates ($400 and a Scotty Cameron putter, Ryan’s source said). Reed denied these claims and said he was ousted for multiple alcohol arrests. According to reports, those incidents were nothing more than the usual college-kid stupidity.

But a Georgia assistant coach released a statement saying that Ryan’s report was accurate and that UGA chose not to associate with “Patrick as a person.”

Reed then transferred to his hometown Augusta State, where his problems continued, but not enough to keep the small team from stunning the golf world to win two national championships. He didn’t socialize with his teammates and was so disliked that, allegedly, before Augusta State faced off in match play against Georgia with the NCAA championship on the line, Reed’s teammates told star Georgia player Harris English that while they wanted to win the title, they hoped he’d beat Reed. The title came down to that match and Reed won, 2 and 1.

Wei also reported that ASU teammates twice suspected Reed of declaring lower scores than he’d shot and that the team had a meeting about whether to keep him on the team. Meanwhile, Reed went 6-0 in match play en route to those two NCAA championships.

Controversial comments

Reed is one of those players (like Tiger Woods) who make you wonder why television networks run live audio feeds during shots. On Friday, in the second round of the Masters, he dropped a typical f-bomb after a bad shot. Whatever. If you don’t want to hear it, don’t put a mic on him.

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3 minutes ago, PittsburghTiger said:

He's got a small window remaining to get to the top of the board.

True, as well as a decade is a pretty big window to not be there.  He might have a Nicklaus Overage Special left in him, but generally, he done. The kids have taken over now.

As far as Reed, only watched the last 1/2 hour today, I don't know if I hate him or like him, guess I have to follow him more, but he pretty much played phenomenal golf for 3 1/2 days, and no one putted nearly as well as him during this tourney, so I give him credit for withstanding the onslaughts.  You can't say he didn't fully earn this one.
 

I guess I'll see in the next few weeks whether he's the douche people say he is.

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9 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

True, as well as a decade is a pretty big window to not be there.  He might have a Nicklaus Overage Special left in him, but generally, he done. The kids have taken over now.

As far as Reed, only watched the last 1/2 hour today, I don't know if I hate him or like him, guess I have to follow him more, but he pretty much played phenomenal golf for 3 1/2 days, and no one putted nearly as well as him during this tourney, so I give him credit for withstanding the onslaughts.  You can't say he didn't fully earn this one.
 

I guess I'll see in the next few weeks whether he's the douche people say he is.

He, Woods, has some time. Nicklaus was 46 when he won the Master's in '86. He did win two majors in 1980 when he was 40, or about to turn 40.

It seems like there are a ton of really good young players out there. I never really paid attention enough to know if that was the same for Nicklaus at that same time in his career. But today Woods finished 16, or 17, strokes back of the winner. That's a lot of ground to make up if you want to win a major.

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He, Woods, has some time. Nicklaus was 46 when he won the Master's in '86. He did win two majors in 1980 when he was 40, or about to turn 40.
It seems like there are a ton of really good young players out there. I never really paid attention enough to know if that was the same for Nicklaus at that same time in his career. But today Woods finished 16, or 17, strokes back of the winner. That's a lot of ground to make up if you want to win a major.
Not gonna happen, competition is too good and his game has fallen too much
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27 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:
43 minutes ago, PittsburghTiger said:
He, Woods, has some time. Nicklaus was 46 when he won the Master's in '86. He did win two majors in 1980 when he was 40, or about to turn 40.
It seems like there are a ton of really good young players out there. I never really paid attention enough to know if that was the same for Nicklaus at that same time in his career. But today Woods finished 16, or 17, strokes back of the winner. That's a lot of ground to make up if you want to win a major.

Not gonna happen, competition is too good and his game has fallen too much

I agree. But there is still a window of time remaining, technically speaking.

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17 hours ago, pops said:

Masters dinner next year is just going to be a tasting menu of gravies from around the world. 

Damnit!!  I owe you one for this comment!!  

Edited by Pablo
I was out of rep to give pops
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