Masters Interview - Patrick Reed

THE MODERATOR:  Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.  We are pleased to welcome Patrick Reed to the interview room.  Patrick is making his Masters debut this week.  He won his first career PGA TOUR victory last fall at the Wyndham Championship, and has already secured two victories this season at the Humana Challenge and the WGC Cadillac Championship.

            Patrick is very familiar with the Augusta area having spent time at Augusta State University men's golf team, guiding them to back‑to‑back national championships in 2010 and 2011.

            Before we open it up to questions, congratulations on your success so far this season.  Would you tell us how it feels to be playing in your first Masters?

            PATRICK REED:  Well, it feels like a dream come true.  A lot of ‑‑ when I was real young, all I ever dreamed about was playing at Augusta for a green jacket, and you know, as of yesterday, with the Drive, Chip and Putt, I'm pretty sure every one of them felt the same way.  To have a dream come true and be here as a professional playing my first Masters, feels like I'm still in a dream.

            Q.  A pretty amazing thing for you just a few years ago, you were playing here at Augusta state, just to be here in such a short amount of time, how does that feel?

            PATRICK REED:  Feels great.  Shows a lot of hard work that we've had behind the scenes and everything and while we've been at home and throughout our life is paying off.  Just glad to be back and looking forward to this week.

            Q.  You had talked earlier about the chance to play here; wondering if you've experienced maybe a little more of the speed and the natural features of the golf course that you maybe didn't get to see before?

            PATRICK REED:  We played yesterday and also Saturday, so I was able to see how the golf course is playing compared to when when I had a chance to play in college.  The only thing that seems different is the greens are a lot firmer and a lot faster.  When I played it was still in absolute perfect condition and it still is now.  It's just one of those things that I just have to get used to the speed and also kind of be careful where you position the golf ball around here because that seems to be just one of the main things.

            Q.  What was the drive like down Magnolia Lane?

            PATRICK REED:  Oh, it was amazing, that's for sure.  I wanted to reverse and do it again (laughter) but I had to keep going so I could get out there and practice.

            Every time driving down, you get a big smile on your face and you realize that this time it's different because the first three times I did it was as an amateur and now I'm doing it as a professional playing at Augusta in the Masters.

            Q.  About how many times have you played out here, and how comfortable are you with it and how do you think it will be different when it actually is the Masters?

            PATRICK REED:  I played, like I said, three times as an amateur and the only time I played it as a professional was Saturday.  So Saturday and Sunday were the other two times I played it.

            I'm very comfortable out here.  I like playing a little draw, so it sets up really well for the golf course as well as I've worked really hard on being able to hit a controlled cut, as well.  So in case you need that ‑‑ because you do need that on a couple holes out here.  It seems like right now I'm very comfortable and I just have to, like I said, get used to the speeds of the greens because when it comes down to it, it's going to be who putts the best and who positions the golf ball.

            We're working pretty hard.

            Q.  Some people, they talk about knowing where to hit the ball, learning the course, but then others say you need to know where not to hit it.  You're a confident player; do you even think that way or are there holes you know not to short‑side yourself and things like that?

            PATRICK REED:  You definitely know in the back of your head where not to hit it but at the same time what I like to do is focus where to hit it because if you focus where not to hit it, then you're going to avoid that spot and you're going to miss it two times farther left or two times farther right trying to stay away from an area. I just try to keep positive thoughts in my mind and attack golf courses that way.

            Q.  You're aware that the history of first‑time winners in this event is not a very long, illustrious one since Fuzzy.  But this crowd, you, Jordan, Harris, Kirk, some guys that have won multiple times, Jimmy Walker, do you think it's out of the question for one of you guys to maybe pull that off this week?

            PATRICK REED:  Not at all.  You have 23, I believe ‑‑ yesterday I heard it's 23 first‑timers now.

            Q.  Maybe 24 now?

            PATRICK REED:  So 24 first timers.  Definitely shows that whoever is playing their best golf is going to win.  Doesn't matter if you've played here once or if you've played here 50 times.  When it comes down to it, it's just going to be one of those things that whoever is playing the best is going to walk away with the trophy.

            Q.  What's the atmosphere like when you're playing here when it's not the Masters, and did you ever come here to watch this?

            PATRICK REED:  Oh, I've been here twice to watch it.  The three times we've played it, it's just like how it was today.  The only difference is there wasn't severe weather.  It was misty and rainy, cold, windy, but you still get nervous stepping up on the tee whether you're an amateur playing for the first time and there's no one around or step up on the tee when there's thousands of people around.

            So it's one of these places that it's definitely on every bucket list of every golfer to at least hopefully be able to play it but at least come watch it.  And to be inside the ropes this year is one of those things that I can't wait.

            Q.  A lot of conversations about this week was going to come and this day, doing what you're doing right now, was going to come.  Compared to those feelings of three, four, five years ago, how does it all feel?

            PATRICK REED:  Oh, it feels great.  Before when we were playing, like I said, I was just kind of out having a joyride, enjoying playing with your other teammates and all that kind of stuff.  Now, I was able to enjoy the past two days playing golf with my wife walking with me.  So there's really no one out there, and you know, it's just like you had the whole place to yourself.  It was very quiet, peaceful.  It's almost like you basically put a dome over it because there's very little wind; it was sunny.  It's amazing.

            I'm looking forward to teeing up during the tournament and having all the crowds there.  Playing college here I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of roars, a lot of fans.  It's going to be a fun week.  I'm looking forward to that.

            Q.  Do you discount experience?  Your best game, if you brought your best game for four days, do you think that would beat someone that maybe didn't have their best game but had tremendous amount of experience around this golf course?

            PATRICK REED:  I feel like nowadays, experience always helps but at the same time, with how many young guys are coming out and winning and all that kind of thing, I feel like with the competition these days, that whoever is playing the best, whether you have experience or don't, is going to pull off a victory.

            You know, now if a guy is experienced and he's playing as little as you are, he'll probably have an edge, but at the same time, I feel like whoever is playing the best nowadays is going to win.

            Q.  Much is made about your top‑five comment and your confidence but how confident are you heading into your first major?

            PATRICK REED:  I'm very confident.  I try to treat it like it's just another event.  You know, it's just a mind‑set that I've always had no matter what event it is, I try to get in the mind‑set that it's just another event, it's another golf course; you're playing the golf course.  Because if you start throwing stuff out of proportion and stuff, then you start getting the nerves up and you start doubting yourself and things start going south.

            I tried that back in amateur golf.  I tried to treat the U.S. Am as if it was just another event.  Did it in college, same thing with NCAAs, tried to feel like that was just another event.  I did it at Doral; I just kept my mind‑set on, you know, it's just another golf tournament.  Go out and play your game, stick to your game plan, and that seems to be working for me.  I'm going to try to do that this week.

            Q.  How much of a different kind of player are you from the guy who was playing college here and how much different of a person are you from the kid who was playing college here?

            PATRICK REED:  You know, when it comes down to different player, I just ‑‑ I feel like I've matured in my golf game on fine‑tuning everything.  In college, I was a little bit, you know, inconsistent.  Was still trying to work on the golf swing on trying to feel like I knew what caused each shot.  Now, I feel like with two years, three years down the road, I've gotten more consistent.  I've been able to control my game and not trying to play how other people play and just try to play my own game.

            You know, personal‑wise, I feel like I'm maturing as a person, as well as I feel like, I mean, I'm doing everything in my power to be the kind of person that I want to be and grow into that.

            Q.  Just curious, 17, you played when Ike's Tree was there and now that it's not there, how strange is it, that that piece of history isn't there anymore?

            PATRICK REED:  Well, if the tree was there, I would have hit it yesterday (laughter).  It was cold.  It was a little into the wind and I hit it down the left side.  I knew exactly where the tree was, and I probably would have caught the top half of that tree and would have been underneath it.

            It's sad that it's not here but at the same time the golf course is just perfect.  That's one of those things that all of us when we step on the tee, we know where it was and we know how it is, and at the same time, you know, I actually went in the pro shop and bought a coin that they have, one of the commorative coins of the Eisenhower Tree and the Masters this year.

            First three times I played this course it was there and it made that hole really hard.

            Q.  How did the guys on Tour react to your top‑five comment?

            PATRICK REED:  I had a lot of positive things.  Michael Jordan had nothing bad to say about it; Gary Player, Henrik Stenson.  You have all of these top athletes don't have a problem with it.

            You know, you have to feel and believe in yourself to be successful, and that's all it is.  I believe in myself and I will hopefully continue playing well and get to that point.

            Q.  What was Michael's comment?

            PATRICK REED:  It was something about he believed ‑‑ you have to believe that way.  You have to believe you're one of the top players, not top 45 player.  I think it was in Sports Illustrated or something like that.

            Q.  You said you're going to try to treat this event like it's just another event, because if you don't, then doubt may creep into your mind.  Considering how well you have played since last August, how often does doubt creep into your mind?

            PATRICK REED:  Not very often (laughter).  That's one of those things that when it comes down to it, I always, even if I'm in the trees and have an impossible shot, I always try to get some belief or something positive out of it; that even if I have to lay up, oh, well, I can get up‑and‑down from a hundred yards.  Because there's always times you can go back in your game throughout your life where you're completely dead and you've laid up to 170 yards and you have to hit a perfect iron shot to three feet and make par.  Or you hit it to 50 feet but you have to make a 50‑foot snake for par.

            So I try to keep on going back to if any kind of doubt starts to slip in my mind, just keep going back to all of the positives and all of the great things that I've done, which gets me right back into that confident mode.

            Q.  Are you kind of amused that people almost want you to apologize for saying that you were a top‑five player?

            PATRICK REED:  Not really.  I mean, I believe in my comments and that's the point where I want to get it.  I'm just going to keep on controlling what I can control, keep on trying to play really good and consistent golf, and hopefully by the end of the day, I get to that point.

            Q.  You talked earlier about when things were hard.  Can you talk about what that means to you, what was hard and when was it hard last on the golf course?

            PATRICK REED:  Golf's always hard.  It's just one of those things.  But the hard times are when I first turned professional, and you know, when I was in Houston, we changed my golf swing completely when I started working with Kevin Kirk, and I had about five months I worked and beat so many golf balls to get myself to where I was comfortable and I could actually compete and play.

            We started to do the Monday qualifiers.  Started at Valero.  We went to Valero, made the cut and then we drove all night and we got three, four hours of sleep, had to turn around and tee up Monday at Zurich.  Made it through there, going six for eight Mondays, just basically making a season out of it, going to Q‑School; after two days, it was like 130‑something place and shooting 8‑under the last four rounds to get my card on the number.

            Those are the hard times that you just keep in the back of your mind that you remember that, okay, as long as I got through that, and if you can get through those things, you can get yourself mentally prepared and hopefully not have to go through those kind of times.

            And then after that, to start the season last year, I was seven for ‑‑ I made seven out of 13 cuts in my first 13 events.  Those are the things that you know the hard times because it makes you get that instinct to keep trying harder to get to the point where you don't have to deal with those anymore.

            Q.  You mentioned about doubt.  Did you doubt yourself during that process?

            PATRICK REED:  No.  Whenever I made the cut at Valero and then I made it through the first Monday qualifier that we made it through at Zurich, I was on, like I said, three or four hours of sleep, never seen the golf course before.  Went and shot 68 or 67, got in a four‑man playoff.  Watched Billy Horschel who was in that playoff, as well; there was six of us for two spots.  Billy hit it to eight feet on the second playoff hole, the par 3, and I was the last one to hit because I was the lucky guy to draw No. 6 out of the hat.  I ended up after watching all of them hit, I think four of them hit the green; Billy was the only one that was really close, and I hit it in there about 2 1/2, three feet.

            So to get through those kind of things, that is when I was like, all right, you can't ‑‑ especially in this game, you can't let doubt get in your way.  I believe it's just as much a mental game as a physical game.

            Q.  When you are winning those NCAA titles at Augusta State, this place was obviously next door but did the Masters and playing in it still feel like it was almost a million miles away?  Did that feel like a far away thought or did it feel like it was next door for you?

            PATRICK REED:  I knew if I kept on doing what I was doing in college and kept on progressing as a player, that I would hopefully get to this point.  I always dreamed of get to Augusta.  I didn't think I was going to get here this week not really.  It's one of those things you think it would take ‑‑ the odds are definitely against you.  You would think you have to get some experience, play some events, because golf is 150 players every week, every event, you have to win to get in.

            The odds are definitely against you, but one of those things that I always thought that and believed in myself that I would get to this point, it's just happened to come quickly.

            THE MODERATOR:   We wish you all the best this week on your first Masters.