Our big brothers at Golf Digest have dug deep into the suspiciously pro-Patrick Reed Twitter account in the past, and while no official conclusions were reached (Pat doesn’t need another lawsuit on his hands, let’s be honest), the overwhelming consensus is that the mastermind behind @useGolfFACTS is none other than Reed’s wife Justine.

This has been neither confirmed nor denied by the Reeds, but in the wee hours of Monday morning we got the closest thing to an admission yet when a joke about Justine’s, um, specific taste in sporting-event seating prompted this instantly iconic reply:

These look like nice seats to me! pic.twitter.com/l0hO5GDbrH

— GolfFACTS (@useGolfFACTS) April 17, 2023

This isn’t exactly Paul Bremer saying “Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.” It’s not the FBI finding Whitey Bulger kickin’ it in Santa Monica, but in the weird, wild, insular world of Golf Twitter, it’s pretty darn close.

The tweet by No Laying Up’s Tron Carter specifically references Justine Reed’s outburst following a 2018 Boston Red Sox game, in which she characterized their premium baseline seats as the “line-drive section” and slammed the PGA Tour for providing the tickets (for the record, all 30 MLB teams instituted netting in 2018). With Patrick Reed seen taking in an Australian rules football game ahead of LIV Golf’s Adelaide stop this week, the waters were ripe for fishing and @useGolfFACTS—either unthinkingly or simply because they do not care anymore—gobbled up the bait.

Perhaps this won’t be the end of the saga. Part of us even hopes it’s not, if only for the laughs. But if this is truly the pulling of the curtain—the ‘Wizard of Oz’-ian reveal we have long pined for—then there’s nothing to say but congratulations. In today’s day and age, where everyone knows everything about everybody in three clicks and a swipe, Justine—or whoever—had a hell of a run.

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By 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.

On the cusp of securing a place in history as the first American to become European No.1, it is perhaps even unfair to propagate his status as the modern-day anti-hero 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.”

Reed has continued to strenuously deny all and every charge but his historical defence was considerably weakened at last year’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Penalised for improving his lie in a waste area while leading Tiger’s end of season hit and giggle, Reed continues to argue that the angle of the camera shots that caught him painted an unfair TV picture.

Reed was inevitably and ruthlessly heckled at the Presidents Cup the following week. Some in the gallery carried plastic shovels and one American-accented fan even joked out loud, “Patrick, are you really going to make your caddie carry 14 clubs and a shovel?”

‘Captain America’ kept his cool at Royal Melbourne until the second day when a fan yelled out “miss it” just as he was about to pull the trigger on an important six-footer. Reed reset and duly sank the putt before twice making exaggerated shovelling gestures with his putter. Some saluted it as a quick riposte, others saw as a callous omission of guilt. Such is the tightrope Reed walks.

Off the course, Reed’s feud with his parents Bill and Jeannette, an awkward silent treatment that extends to his younger sister Hannah, has also served to deepen the intrigue.

It has played out since Reed, just 22 at the time, married Justine Karain in late 2012 after they’d met at Augusta State. Reports that Justine ordered security to escort Reed’s estranged folks out of the 2014 U.S. Open have subsequently been corrected by a USGA official who confirmed the pair had been removed on the “observation of local law enforcement, who reported Bill Reed had made what they described as an intimidating movements towards Justine Reed.

Reed is embraced by wife Justine after winnng the 2018 Masters. Getty Images

“Patrick and Justine Reed had nothing to do with Bill & Jeannette Reed’s removal from the course, their badges being confiscated, or any request for them not to return to the event that week.”

You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends, right? Reed may be thought so until the 2018 Ryder Cup when, slighted by the breaking up of his previously successful partnership with Jordan Spieth, he called out both Spieth and U.S. captain Jim Furyk following a 17½-10½ thrashing at the hands of Europe at Le Golf National.

Critics point to that New York Times exposé as all you need to know about Reed’s self-centred character and insist the aforementioned (alleged) indiscretions are just the tip of the iceberg. They may have a point. Since his Masters win in 2018, Reed has also been involved in a verbal dust-up with a TV crew and a bizarre social-media incident with the PGA Tour involving baseball tickets.

Whisked together, it muddies one of the most impressive records of the modern era; a Masters green jacket, Ryder Cup cult-hero status (until Paris at least) and eight PGA Tour titles including a World Golf Championship and FedEx Cup playoff wins.

Reed’s triumph at the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship had the potential to transform his public perception. And yet his great play to pip Bubba Watson and Jamie Donaldson at Trump National Doral in Miami, allowing him to  become the youngest winner of a WGC title, was lost in a typically honest interview afterwards.

“I have three wins on the PGA Tour. I truly believe that I am a top-five player in the world,” said Reed, unwittingly repositioning himself in the public crosshairs.

It was a bold claim from the then world No.44, especially as he hadn’t yet teed it up in a major. But Reed doubled down after also becoming just the fifth pro to capture three or more PGA Tour titles before his 24th birthday, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy.

“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.”

With caddie Kessler Karain at the recent Zozo Championship. Getty Images

Others can and have gotten away with such brazenness (Brooks Koepka, anyone?). But golf is a game that generally likes its champions humble and if nothing else, squeaky-clean on the course. Reed, a man who continues to speak and stand by his own truth, insists he is no cheat but many won’t afford him any more mulligans.

Others, like recent European Tour winner Robert MacIntyre, reckon Reed’s strong self-belief might simply be misunderstood.

“I have played him a fair few times now, and I think he is an absolute gem of a guy,” the Scottish lefty, who was paired with Reed for the opening 36 holes of the PGA Championship, told the UK’s National Club Golfer magazine.

“I have actually spoken about it with [my caddie] Gregg and other players, because the two of us get on. There are obviously some things that have happened, but as a person he is top drawer.”

World View

Not long before Justine gave birth to the couple’s first child in May 2014, her bother Kessler Karain took over caddie duties from his sister. But the greater weight has continued to be shouldered by Reed ever since he anointed himself a “top-five” player.

History records that he’s yet to reach that lofty plateau although Reed has gone agonisingly close, ascending to 6th spot in the OWGR following the Charles Schwab Challenge in June, the PGA Tour’s first event post COVID.

It’s easy to dredge up past incidents and pin perceived cockiness on Reed but in his defence, there are also ample examples of good deeds and an appreciation of his place in the bigger scheme of golfing things.

Reed is scheduled to return to the Saudi International for the third successive year in February and has already been teed up to reunite with the young students at The World Academy in King Abdullah Economic City. Critics might argue that a tidy appearance fee makes any after hours appearance thinly veined PR fluff. But Reed seems earnestly engaged.

“I enjoy meeting new fans and travelling to different parts of the world to help grow the game of golf, and I truly enjoy the different cultures and countries that we visit,” he said. “To be able to play at some of the best courses around the world is such a gift and something that I am truly grateful to be able to do.”

Indeed, join the queue to say what you will about the current world No.11. But criticism of his support of the European Tour since 2015 cannot be levelled.

His commitment was rewarded in January 2019 when Reed joined Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson as the only Americans to be awarded Honorary Life Membership to the European Tour.

It has also been underlined this year when, after missing the cut in Saudi, he ignored the risks of trans-Atlantic travel and the restrictions of bio-secure bubbles to finish T-3 at the tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship in October, regaining in the process the Race to Dubai lead he first established in February after winning the WGC-Mexico.

Reed plays into the 18th green at JGE during the 2018 DP World Tour Championship. Getty Images

Reed has always voiced his desire to be seen as a world player. The trick now is to record his first win outside North America with that trademark, cut-off iron (and sometimes driver) swing and silky short-game of his.

“It would be an honour to become the first American to win the Race to Dubai and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of competing at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai,” said Reed who finished T-2 to Danny Willett in the 2018 DPWTC and second overall in the Race to Dubai that same year.

“Being a worldwide player is certainly at the forefront of my mind as a professional. Experiencing new cultures and playing in different conditions ultimately helps me become a more well-rounded golfer and person.”

Which begs the question: surely Reed is aware of his negative public reputation? Is it not important to you to be popular, Patrick?   

“You know, that’s one great thing about the sport we play is you know, whether it’s here, whether it’s anywhere else we play around the world. A lot of the fans, they respect great golf and they want to see great golf,” said Reed on the eve of his Masters title defence in 2019.

“It all depends on how you handle yourself, and the more interactive you are with the fans, the more they are going to respect you. Because at the end of the day, the more the fans and the people get to know you, the more they realise that you’re just a normal guy out there playing golf and you’re just doing your profession.”

Reed receives Honoury Life Membership of the European Tour from Keith Pelley. Getty Images

Reed perhaps hasn’t handled himself the way others would have hoped for since those comments at Augusta National 20 months ago. But the desire to play great golf worldwide remains.

“He relishes the chance to be seen as a global player and to experience new cultures, so it has been great to see him embrace the opportunities the European Tour can offer in that respect as golf’s global Tour,” said European Tour CEO Keith Pelley.

“He came over to Wentworth again in October for the BMW PGA Championship and finished tied third, then he also played well in the [top-10 at the Nov 2020] Masters to extend his lead at the top of the Race to Dubai, so he now has a good chance to realise that ambition at the DP World Tour Championship.”

There’s the thing. Unabashed ambition. Come at Patrick Reed all you want but the only critic he listens to is himself. And in Reed’s mind at least, the best way to answer the only critic that truly matters is to win.

Queue another four-day circumnavigation of Earth. “Winning the Race to Dubai and the European Tours’ Order of Merit has always been a goal of mine. I came close in 2018 and you can bet I will do my best to earn the No.1 spot [this year].”

The post The Curious Case of Patrick Reed appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France—There are myriad reasons the United States got drubbed by the Europeans in this year’s Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, from questionable captain’s picks that accounted for a scant two points (compared to 9.5 from Europe’s four picks), to being badly outplayed (the 17.5 to 10.5 beatdown was the second-largest margin of victory in the history of the event since Continental Europe joined the fray in 1979).

One of the more curious decisions of the week and a white elephant in the room, however, was the breaking up of supergroup Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth.

The 28-year-old Reed and 25-year-old Spieth had been a formidable duo in two Ryder Cups and two Presidents Cups, rolling up an 8-1-3 record together, which included a pair of 3&2 smack downs of Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson and another 2&1 victory over them at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National, won by the Americans.

When it came to the 42nd edition of the matches this week, though, the two strangely never played together. They were grouped in the same practice round pods early in the week, but when the shots counted for real Reed ended up with Tiger Woods, and was summarily blanked in two four-ball sessions. Spieth, meanwhile, was paired with good friend Justin Thomas for each of the four-ball and foursomes sessions, and they were an impressive 3-1 together.

The split worked out just fine for Spieth. No so much for Reed.

The player who earned the moniker “Captain America” after leading the U.S. in points with some epic performances in the 2014 and 2016 Cups struggled mightily around Le Golf National, particularly in Saturday morning’s four-ball match when he looked more like Aquaman with several balls finding the water and one shot going out of bounds. He made just one birdie and he and Woods got smoked by Moliwood—Europe’s newest supergroup of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood that surely won’t be split up anytime soon—5&4 to give the Europeans a key point in a session it won 3-1 (the same tally it was out scored by the morning before) and provide momentum going into the afternoon.

More telling than the result, perhaps, was that the breakup of the band shed light on the dynamic between two of the Americans’ more prominent players.

Back in March, in a ruling at Bay Hill during the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Reed cracked that he would have received a free drop if his name was Jordan Spieth. It was an interesting take.

Then on Sunday morning, a twitter account that appeared to belong to Reed’s wife Justine blasted out several missives that suggested Spieth was the one behind the decision, with Justine telling one responder to “ask Jordan” about the split and saying, “You don’t have to love the people you work with – but when you have chemistry and success, you go with it for the TEAM.”

She also took a swipe at a tweet from the editor of GolfChannel.com that was critical of her husband’s poor play and suggested that Woods, Thomas and Rickie Fowler could have worked interchangeably as partners in order to keep the Spieth-Reed pairing together.

Tracked down by GolfDigest.com during her husband’s singles victory over Tyrrell Hatton later that afternoon, Reed’s wife when asked if she was behind the account or the tweets said, “I don’t know anything about that.” She then added she wasn’t doing any interviews.

Things only grew more strange from there.

In the U.S. team press conference afterward, with Reed and Spieth seated at opposite ends of the dais, the two looked awkwardly at one another when asked if they were surprised they didn’t play together and if the possibility of doing so had been discussed.

“No, we weren’t [surprised],” Spieth said. “We were totally involved with every decision that was made. Jim allowed it to be a player friendly environment, and we were involved and we thought that the teams that came out of our four-man squad, we had two potentially fantastic teams. We went out confidently and tried to play our best.”

Before Reed could respond, Furyk, being the good chief he is fell on the sword and interjected.

“Jordan and Patrick have been great in the past,” he said. “Whether that’s a point of contention or not I felt we had two great pairings out of it. So it was totally my decision and my call.”

And it was a call that like many this week will continue to get scrutinised for a long time to come.

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By Stephen Hennessey
Patrick Reed’s victory at the 2018 Masters etched him into golf’s history books. But how familiar are you with the year’s first major champion?

If you’re a golf fan, you likely knew Reed for his finger-wagging and “hushing” at past Ryder Cups, his gun-slinging style of golf, which hadn’t yet resulted in any major championships—but made the 27-year-old stand out for his brashness in a sport that seems to lack those personality types.

Here are a few other things you need to know about Reed:

His wife, Justine, used to caddie for him—including in his first win on the PGA Tour when he outdueled Jordan Spieth at the 2013 Wyndham Championship.

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

When Justine became pregnant with the couple’s first child, Windsor Wells, Justine’s brother, Kessler Karain, took over. He remains Reed’s current caddie—including who he won with at Augusta National.

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Yes, he famously—or was it infamously—declared himself a top-five player in the world after winning a WGC at Doral in 2014.

(Photo by Juan Salas/Icon SMI/Corbis via Getty Images)

The win was Reed’s third victory in seven months. The 23-year-old received some backlash at the time—considering he hadn’t yet played in a major championship.

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Reed’s father, Bill, gave his son a set of plastic clubs when Reed was born.

(Photo courtesy of Bill Reed)

By age 9, the Reeds would drive to Hank Haney’s ranch in McKinney, Texas, to practice all day. As Reed told our Guy Yocom in 2016: “I’d get there at 7:30 in the morning on snowy days, turn on the heater and hit until noon. I’d go inside, eat a cheeseburger, then resume hitting until dark. You know those huge pails of balls the size of laundry baskets? I’d go through four of those a day. I’d get these world-class blisters on the fourth finger of both hands. I went through a lot of pain. I felt like I was paying a price. I don’t think you can hit as many balls as I did without getting to be pretty good.”

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Patrick’s coach at Haney’s facility, Peter Murphy, showed Reed videos of Haney teaching Tiger.

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Tiger’s determination not only inspired Reed to get better, but Reed starting wearing red and black, like Tiger does on Sundays, out of respect.

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Before his Sunday singles duel at the 2016 Ryder Cup against Rory McIlroy, USA vice-captain Tiger Woods noticed Reed was a little off on the range. He had his own way to loosen him up.

(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

“Hey, Patrick,” Tiger said, according to John Feinstein in his book Inside the Ryder Cup. “Come here a minute.”

“I thought sure he was going to give me a pep talk, say something about my swing or about just relaxing and not trying too hard,” Reed told Feinstein. “I walked over there. He had his arms folded. I waited. He looked really serious.

“And then he told me a dirty joke.”

“It was actually the perfect thing to do,” Reed told Feinstein. “It just broke the tension. I went back to hitting balls, and all of a sudden I was loose as could be. I was ready.”

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Reed went on to beat McIlroy, 1 up, at Hazeltine, in what has been dubbed one of the best singles matches in Ryder Cup history.

(Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images)

What happened at the eighth hole helped ensure the match was an instant classic. Rory turned to the entire crowd, raising his arms and screaming “I can’t hear you!” after he rolled in a 50-footer for birdie. Promptly, Reed rolled in his 25-foot birdie to halve the hole—and wagged his finger at Rory, as if to say “not so fast.” The two gave each other a smile and a fist pump as they went onto the next hole. The duo matched birdies the entire time in one of the most emotional displays of an emotional match.

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Beyond his choice of Sunday attire, Reed is extremely superstitious.

(Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

He told Golf Digest in a My Shot with Guy Yocom: “I’ve only played balls with the number 3. I always have exactly 12 balls in my bag. I mark my ball tails-side up with a 1927 quarter. I carry exactly six tees in my pocket, and if I start breaking them, I have to get down to zero tees before I reload a fresh six.”

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Reed currently works with Kevin Kirk, a pro from The Woodlands Country Club outside Houston, near the Reeds’ home.

(Patrick Smith)

Among the things, Kirk and Reed have worked on are getting Reed’s tempo and rhythm right in his driver swing. Reed’s swing was never more in sync than at Augusta National—where his helicopter finish was on display throughout the week.

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When Reed was 10, he stopped wearing shorts in tournaments—after he realized pros never wore shorts in tournaments.

According to Shane Ryan’s book Chasing the Tiger, Ryan says Reed would wear khaki pants even in the heart of summer in Texas.

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After starting college at the University of Georgia, Reed transferred to Augusta University (then Augusta State), where he helped his new school win two NCAA golf championships.

Reed shares a laugh with Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein while waiting to tee off during their match at the 2010 NCAA Championship at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn. Reed beat Uihlein, 4 and 2, as Augusta State won the team title over the Cowboys. (NCAA Photos)

The Jaguars beat a strong Oklahoma State team that featured top amateurs Peter Uihlein, Morgan Hoffmann and Kevin Tway in 2010, and defeated Reed’s former school, Georgia, in the 2011 finals for back-to-back NCAA titles.

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Reed’s college experience was rocky at times.

Reed left Georgia as a freshman for undisclosed reasons. Published reports allege Reed broke rules during qualifying rounds as well as took items from teammates’ lockers (both of which Reed denies). At Augusta State, his teammates were also reportedly standoffish with Reed. While going 6-0 in match play in the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Championships, Reed left to turn pro at the end of his junior year.

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Reed’s relationship with his parents is also complicated.

Neither his mother, Jeannette, or father were invited to Reed’s wedding in December 2012 and the family, including Reed’s sister, Hannah, hasn’t spoken to Patrick in several years. The family watched Reed win the Masters from their home in Augusta, Ga., just miles away from Augusta National.

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He won the Masters with a pair of wedges from a new equipment company, Artisan Golf.

(Photo by Andrew Redington)

Reed doesn’t have a deal with the main club company, and his bag shows the freedom he has to play any and all equipment. At the Masters, he used a Ping G400 LST driver, which he favours for its low-spin qualities, an old Nike fairway wood, an Odyssey putter and wedges from this new brand started by former Nike club makers.

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Reed’s yardage book is so American.

Captain America, as Reed has been dubbed, carries a number of USA-themed gear with him—including his yardage book, 2016 Ryder Cup umbrella. He’s even been known to wear his past USA team uniform outside of the Ryder Cup.

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A 2031 AJGA bag tag hangs on Reed’s golf bag.

Reed kept his own AJGA bag tag on his bag as he first came on tour. He now has one for his

And with the birth of his second child, Barrett Benjamin Reed, in December 2017, he’s added a second tag.

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You’ll often spot Reed on the range with earbuds, listening to the same song on repeat: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.

He told me in 2013: “It’s the perfect tempo to swing to—and it pumps me up.” The song even made Nick Faldo’s call on the 72nd hole on Sunday … Faldo said: “Welcome to the new age, the new age.”

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Like most golfers, Reed has thought often about winning the Masters. And he lets his mind wander into his practice.

“I dream very little when I’m sleeping and a ton when I’m awake,” Reed told Golf Digest in 2016. “I still do the practice-green thing of having a putt to win the Masters, the announcers whispering in the background in their dramatic way, a huge gallery there, the whole thing. I’ve never missed one of those putts, mainly because I make sure it’s a two-footer, so winning is a bygone conclusion. Positive reinforcement, you know.”

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