The Curious Case Of PATRICK REED

IF ‘CAPTAIN AMERICA’ BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER FROM THE UNITED STATES TO WIN THE RACE TO DUBAI, WILL IT SHUSH HIS FIERCEST CRITICS? YES, SIR. WELL, SORT OF.

- Kent Gray

IT’S FAR TOO EASY to relitigate the litany of incendiary moments that mark the extraordinary life and times of Patrick Nathaniel Reed. â–¶ On the cusp of securing a place in history as the fi rst American to become European No.1, it is perhaps even unfair to propagate his status as the modern-day antihero of world golf. Yet to paper over the controversies would serve no justice to the story of one of the most intriguing and complicated characters in the game. It would also ignore some fairly damning evidence.

It started in college where Reed was famously booted off the team at the University of Georgia in 2009. Chalk up his arrest for underage drinking and possession of a fake ID while at Georgia to a youthful mistake righted by 60 hours of community service. But the allegations of inaccurate scorecard accountancy, golf’s most heinous crime, that have dogged the now 30-year-old since his brief stint at Georgia have been tougher to shake.

At his next school, Augusta State University, most of the roster reportedly tolerated him as a necessary evil in helping deliver the school consecutive NCAA championships in 2010 and 2011. He was even thumbed for stealing from team-mates.

“Those on the professional circuit who were college teammates with Reed at Georgia and Augusta State have nothing to do with him,” Kevin Kisner told Golf Digest in late 2018. “They all hate him.”