Patrick Reed is far from out of The Masters as he goes in search of a second green jacket and he has referenced a certain Tiger Woods when discussing his performance so far.
Having won a green jacket already, Reed is no stranger to getting around Augusta National and he knows very much what needs to be done to win.
Of course, Tiger Woods is the holder of five green jackets and just one shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record haul.
Needless to say, then, that Woods is very much a hero of Reed and others and commenting on Tiger’s influence on him, Reed admitted he still very much takes things from the 15-time major winner’s game.
Patrick Reed shares what he takes from Tiger Woods when playing Augusta National
Speaking to the media after his round of 69, Reed was quizzed on his past comments about Tiger Woods and being able to match him by performing well at Augusta.
And answering those points, Reed insisted that Woods remains the gold standard for him and others.
“I mean, this golf tournament means a lot,” Reed quipped. “Yeah, everyone wants to play like him, right? Growing up watching the way he played around this place, but just the way he’s played in general, the one thing that’s so impressive is how well his game travels, how well he plays and how well he just manages himself around every golf course.
“He never beats himself. I think that’s something that’s so important. You see all these guys chasing distance, but Tiger Woods would never beat himself. He’d put himself in the right spots. He’d give himself an opportunity to shoot the lowest scores possible, and because of that, you’re not going to sit there — he’s not going to make a mental error, so you’re never going to get a freebie playing against him.
“You play against some of these other guys, when they’re on, they’re on, but everyone — I done it twice today. Mental errors, you’re giving a freebie back to the field. Tiger never did that. That just shows you how much confidence he has in his game. He can take certain lines and do certain things and take the high percentage shot every time.
“You just never know. With him, back in his prime, there was no one better. Hopefully we can channel some of it tomorrow and get really going.”
Going on to talk about Tiger further, Reed then got onto Woods not being at The Masters dinner on Tuesday. It was the first time Tiger has missed it and according to Reed, there was a an element of it being different.
“I mean, it was different. You always want all the champions there. He’s a huge part of not just that Champions Dinner but he’s a huge part of golf. So to not have Tiger there, he was definitely missed.
“But at the same time, we all completely understand why he wasn’t there. We all hope for a speedy recovery and get back and hope he can get healthy soon.”
What Patrick Reed thinks he needs to score to have a chance at winning
Patrick Reed’s best ever final round at The Masters is a 68 and going into Sunday, the American is aware he’ll need to go low.
With Rory McIlroy leading by some way, Reed knows a big score is needed and he’ll also need McIlroy to drop.
However, he is confident that he can get into the mix.
“It’s going to need to be lower than that [68]. Yeah, depending where that lead gets to, you just never know. But you’d have to expect to go out and play the best round you’ve got,” Reed admitted.
“If my lowest on Sunday is 68, I’m thinking for me to be able to win this golf tournament, I’ve got to shoot my lowest round I’ve ever shot on Sunday out here. Which honestly I feel like my golf game is better than it’s ever been at Augusta, so that being said, just needed that putter to really wake up.
“I still missed a couple today, but at least I saw some go in because it’s been a rough ride this week so far with that flat stick. Hey, put myself in a spot that you just never know.
“We’ll just go out there tomorrow and try and jump on it early, and hopefully at the end of the day have a chance come late.”
Reed’s winning score in his 2018 was 15-under par. Looking at the leaderboard going into Sunday, it looks like the score is going to be even better, meaning a monster round is needed from Reed.
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