The Unquiet American

Love him or hate him, there's no doubting the talent and self-deprecating humour of Patrick Reed

Reed was one of the standouts at Gleneagles

There was none of that when it came to the match but Reed took what banter there was in good heart. In fact, it would be difficult to find anyone who did not enjoy that moment when he put his finger to his lips to tell the people to shush.

"Henrik," he recalled, "made a big birdie putt and the crowds went wild, which was what I would have expected.

"Then I made one on top of him [to draw level] and that’s when I gave them the hush sign. The atmosphere was awesome after that.”

Reid won three and a half points in addition to a lot of hearts that week, while he did still more to have people in the UK warming to him when he returned a few weeks later to play in the Volvo World Match Play championship at the London Golf Club.

He and his wife, Justine, told how they had watched the tournament on TV on several occasions and had often said to each other that if ever Patrick were invited to play, they would come at once.

Justine would explain their ‘feel’ for London. Firstly, they had a cousin in the city and, secondly, Justine had been an avid fan of the late Princess Diana and she and Patrick had retained a big interest in the progress of William and Harry.

Reed played some great golf to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to George Coetzee. People were interested to see how he would take that defeat and the answer, here, was that he could not have been more sporting.

His opponent, he said, had simply played the better golf on the day. He also reiterated that on the strength of his Ryder Cup and World Match Play experiences, he was determined not to be one of those Americans who stuck rigidly to the PGA tour. He wanted to be a world player and, no, the British weather had done nothing to have him wishing he were back in the US sunshine.

In truth, he notices the weather less than any American you ever saw. On days when the locals were clad in waterproofs and woolly jackets against the cold, he wore nothing on top beyond a tee-shirt. For that alone, people had a sneaking admiration for the young man.

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