Patrick Reed: Hecklers will likely get worse before they get better

Patrick Reed was on the final playoff hole at the Sentry Tournament of Champions when one fan loudly shouted what so many others are thinking. And things will likely get worse before they get better for him.

Patrick Reed is a lot of things, but one thing he has never seemed too concerned about is his image. I don’t even mean that in a particularly negative way; in fact, it’s mostly the opposite. He’s always come off as a player who’s focused on his own game and what’s important to him personally, and if the fans and his fellow players come along for the ride, hey, all the better.

That’s a strong mentality for a professional golfer to have in most circumstances. While today’s pros seem to be forming a bit of a brotherhood, especially in the younger ranks, it’s still a bit of a lonely profession at its core. One player, travelling the world, entirely in control of his own career and pay. Play well, or sooner or later, you’ll be looking for a different line of work. Friends off the course are the same ones trying to take the money you want at the top.

Here’s the other thing about “image”: it can be lost as easily as it’s gained. Case in point, when Reed adopted the “Captain America” nickname for his strong play and stronger attitude during the Ryder Cup in 2014 and 2016. He and Jordan Spieth were tearing it up, while Reed was shushing crowds overseas and amping them up here in the States. And we all – myself included – ate it all up. After all, it was us who stuck him with that gimmick, and he rolled right along with it.

But while golf fans can accept a lot of things, what we can’t accept is someone who even appears to be intentionally playing outside the rules. Which is what made Reed’s bunker fiasco at this year’s Hero World Challenge so damning. Reed had been carrying around the baggage of cheating allegations since his college days at Augusta State, but things can be forgotten when times are good.

When he appeared to rake sand away from his bunker shot at Albany, he was assessed a proper two-stroke penalty. When he essentially denied that what he did was improving his lie, despite the video evidence, things got worse. When video hit social media of him doing the same thing years prior…well, that wasn’t going to help much, either.

Fast forward to the third playoff hole of this past week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, which Reed gained entry to with his win at the Northern Trust in August. Facing a likely must-make birdie putt with Justin Thomas a mere three or four feet away from his own, Reed took aim…and a fan in the stands shouted “CHEATER!” at the top of their lungs.

It was after the putt was well on its way and turning to a low miss. but the moment stood as a stark reminder of what Reed may face in the future. It’s a classic case of “this is going to get worse before it gets better”. After all, most PGA TOUR galleries are known for being overly reserved, if anything. Sure, we still get a few people who shout “GET IN THE HOLE” on a par-5 tee shot, but this is a different type of heckling – direct, personal, cutting.

Reed’s icy glare into the grandstand told the entire story in a single moment. He, of course, knows that this will continue in some spots, especially those where crowds are more vocal in general. Think Phoenix, New York, and yes, even the Ryder Cup on home soil this year. Sure, the fans at Whistling Straits should be pulling for the team with “USA” on their caps by large, but there’s always a strong international contingent at the event, and you can bet they’ll get their pound of flesh from old Cap.

Personally, while I understand the sentiment of the heckler – yes, Patrick Reed did technically cheat – I also think there’s a time and a place, and I don’t love the optics of it being on the third playoff hole with a potential winning or extending putt. And while the fan at least didn’t interrupt his stroke, Reed would have been well within his rights to be furious if he had.

Neither Patrick Reed nor his newly minted detractors seem willing to give an inch, so expect this type of thing to continue until either the fans get bored of it, or if Reed finds a way to tweak his attitude to be more approachable to the public. He’s too good of a player to stay down for long, but he’s also too good of a player to find himself in those situations in the first place.