Patrick Reed won The Masters in 2018 and while watching the final round unfold, Gary Player noticed something highly unusual and surprising.
It’s fair to say that both Reed and Player are two of the most controversial figures in the world of professional golf.
The South African, who won The Masters three times, is well known for speaking his mind, and he can come across as somewhat arrogant at times.
Meanwhile, the American – the 2018 champion at Augusta National – is one of the least popular players among golf fans.
That said, Reed has been praised by American fans for his Ryder Cup comments recently, so perhaps the tide is turning for the 35-year-old.
Maybe he gets a bad rap. Despite all of the accusations that have been thrown at him in the past, he has never been disqualified from a tournament.
In fact, his incredible golfing ability often gets overlooked due to his popularity, or lack thereof.
Gary Player noticed ‘unusual’ Patrick Reed moment at the 2018 Masters
Three-time Masters champion Player considers himself to be a top-three golfer of all time, and the fact that he said that about himself proves why so many people struggle to warm to him.
Reed will know all about that.
His victory at Augusta National seven years ago certainly wasn’t the most popular among the fans.
However, people need to start separating what they think of Reed as a person and his golfing ability, because on his day, he’s one of the very best around.
The final round of his victory at The Masters in 2018 threw up a really strange scenario actually.
When writing a column for Worldwide Golf back in May 2018, Player highlighted something very unusual that he noticed during the final round of The Masters that year.
He said: “It was an unusual, surprising moment as the two players were announced on the first tee. Normally, an American golfer is greeted by vociferous cheers as he acknowledges the crowd, and his opponent is generally afforded a polite, yet quiet welcome. This time the roles were reversed.
“Northern Ireland’s Rory received deafening cheers from the galleries while the ‘cheers’ for the 6-foot-tall Texan, Patrick, were muted by comparison. It’s standard practice in all sports played in the USA that American crowds support their fellow countrymen and women as loudly as they can. When Rory hit a good shot it brought wild applause from the galleries while Patrick received little more than a whimper for his good play.“
“I thought that Reed showed tremendous courage throughout the week and particularly the final round. He held off the challenge from Rickie Fowler and Jordan Speith, who finished second and third respectively, and deservedly won his Green Jacket like a true champion.
“Much has been said about Reed’s behaviour off the golf course but who knows the real truth of the matter. What happens behind closed doors, nobody knows. What we do know is that on the golf course he behaved impeccably and thoroughly deserved to be the 2018 Masters Champion.“
Rory McIlroy is one of the most popular players in the game and interestingly, the patrons at Augusta National were pulling for him over another American – Bryson DeChambeau – this year as well.
Rory McIlroy vs Patrick Reed ‘teegate’ incident at the Dubai Desert Classic
In an incident that has since become known as ‘Teegate’, McIlroy completely ignored Reed on the driving range ahead of the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic.
And in response to being blanked, Reed flicked a tee in McIlroy’s direction and later labeled the northern Irishman as an ‘immature little child’.
The five-time major champion then fired back at the American, suggesting he ‘doesn’t know what world Reed is living in.’
Amazingly, McIlroy went on to win the event by holing a 20-foot putt on the final hole to pip Reed to the title by a single stroke.
The two golfers will clearly never see eye to eye and that’s just fine. Rivalries between players is what makes professional sports so alluring to the general public.
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