Patrick Reed rides hot streak to Masters debut

Ever since he qualified for the Masters Tournament back in August, Patrick Reed has believed he’ll be in contention for the green jacket until the end – even if this is his major-championship debut.

Now we know why.

Reed, who is in his second full season on the PGA Tour, backed up his pre-Masters confidence in early March by bursting into the national consciousness with his golf and his words.

After winning the Cadillac Championship at Doral in wire-to-wire fashion to become the youngest World Golf Championships winner, the 23-year-old former Augusta State University All-American said he thought he was a “top-five player in the world.”

The victory, which came against a field that featured 49 of the world’s top-50 players, was the native Texan’s third in his past 14 starts and moved him up to 20th in the world golf ranking at the time.

“All these guys are going to be at Augusta, basically, and to go wire‑to‑wire, that definitely just gives me more confidence come Sunday that if I play how I’m supposed to at Augusta, that we’ll be in the running,” he said after winning Doral.

If he were to win the Masters, Reed would be only the fourth player to do so in his first appearance, joining Horton Smith (1934), Gene Sarazen (1935) and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979).

He’ll come into Augusta on a hot streak that hasn’t been seen in 45 years. According to GOLFstats.com. no one since 1969 has won three times on the PGA Tour before playing in his first major championship.

All of Reed’s wins have had a dramatic flair. In the first one, at Greensboro, N.C., in mid-August, Reed hit one of the “shots of the year” from an uneven lie to win a sudden-death playoff over 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, who went on to be the 2013 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

In his second win, Reed shot three consecutive 63s to open the Humana Challenge in mid-January, a PGA Tour record. That earned him a congratulatory phone call from former President Clinton, whose Clinton Foundation is the presenting sponsor for the Humana Challenge.

Then in March, Reed won the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Classic, handling conditions at Doral that included 36 mph winds in the second round.

While the victory at Doral moved Reed from 44th in the world ranking to 20th, he has no doubt he’ll soon be higher.

“It’s just one of those things that I feel like with how hard I’ve worked, I’m working my way up to become a top-five player in the world,” said Reed, who was ranked 168th before he won in Greensboro in August. “But the thing is, it’s just going to take a little time in the fact that I haven’t been on the PGA Tour for very long.”

After his win, Reed explained why he believes he’s a top-five player.

“I’ve worked so hard,” he said. “I’ve won a lot in my junior career. I did great in my amateur career. I went 6-0 in match play in NCAAs. We won NCAAs two years in a row (at Augusta State). I got third individually one year at NCAAs. Now, I have three wins on the PGA Tour. I just don’t see a lot of guys who’ve done that, besides Tiger (Woods) and the other legends of the game. I believe in myself. I feel like I’ve proven myself.”

Reed’s top-five boast was a hot topic in the weeks leading up to the Masters.

In mid-March, two weeks after the “top-five” comment, Reed stood by his remark at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first event since winning at Doral.

“I thought it was pretty funny; it was interesting to see how much of a stir that got,” he said. “When it comes down to it, that’s what I believe in. You have to have that belief in yourself. If you don’t then you’re not going to play like it, and you’re definitely not going to be contending on Sundays.”

Two-time Masters champion Tom Watson, who will captain the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team that Reed hopes to make, weighed in on the remark.

“When you win, you have that aura that you’re at the top of your game and it’s hard for anybody to beat you,” Watson said. “That’s a good place to be. As we all know, the game can turn on you and it will turn on you, and you’ll go through the low spells.

“What Patrick said, I can understand him saying that, but after 14 events and winning three of them, I guess maybe he has a little bit of street cred. After my first event winning, I said I hope my goal was to be the best golfer in the world. After winning three out of the first 14, you’ve got to give the guy a little bit of credit.”

Augusta National is less than 10 minutes from the campus of Augusta State (now known as Georgia Regents University), where Reed helped the team win NCAA Division I national titles in 2010 and 2011.

“That’s going to be a treat walking down that first fairway at Augusta,” Reed said.

The Jaguars were underdogs both years they won their national titles. It is an attitude Reed carried to the pro ranks. With no playing status, he made it through six of eight Monday qualifiers to get into PGA Tour events in 2012, often driving all night with his wife, Justine, and playing the 18-hole rounds with little sleep. He earned his PGA Tour card for 2013 through the 2012 Q-School (shooting a final-round 68 to get his card on the number).

“I always play to try to prove to everybody that I belong out here, not only out here on the PGA Tour but also with the best players in the world.” Reed said.

Despite his Augusta ties, Reed isn’t sure if he’ll have much local support once the Masters starts.

“Maybe,” he said of being a local fan favorite. “The main thing is I can’t focus on that as much as what’s happening inside the ropes and focus on my golf game. The more I try to be a crowd-pleaser and worry about everyone that is around you, you get distracted from your game. “I’m excited but at the same time I can’t get ahead of myself,” Reed said of his Masters debut. “It’s my first major. If you get ahead of yourself, it’s going to distract you and you’re probably not going to play very well. I’m pretty sure we’ll enjoy it Monday through Wednesday, but once the tournament comes, it’s strictly business.”

Reed loves to compete so much that he’d like to play almost every week leading up to the Masters. But, he decided to play just one time between Doral and the Masters.

“I know how important it is,” he said of the Masters. “After Augusta I’m sure I’ll be playing pretty hard up until May 26.”

That is the due date for his wife, who had to give up caddying for her husband starting with the Tournament of Champions in early January. Justine’s brother, Kessler Karain, has taken her place, but she plans to return in the future.