Reed all about it!

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

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There's something about Patrick Reed that gets people exercised. Everybody has an opinion about him. The pundits and experts tend to look down their noses at the guy, while Joe Public loves him.

His victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was his third in a year - only Rory McIlroy has a better record. That would be Rory McIlroy, the world number one, the best golfer on the planet.

In 2014, Reed got on the wrong side of a whole lot of people by announcing that he considered himself to be a top-five golfer. They thought he was arrogant, they thought that he was full of it.

But here's the thing - just as many people admired him for his confidence. If you don't believe that you are one of the best, how will you ever achieve your goals?

There was more to it than that though - much more. Reed is overweight -he is obviously not a gym rat. He likes a beer and he likes a hamburger - or two! He arrived on the scene with his wife carrying his bag, and she still would be if it weren't for the fact that she fell pregnant. In other words, he is just an ordinary guy, with an extraordinary talent.

Then there's the swing. Perfect it is not. In fact, there is such a violent movement of his foot at impact that it is miraculous that he manages to finish his golf swing in balance. But he does.

His performance at the Ryder Cup showed that the Americans still have at least one young golfer who cares. He wore his heart on his sleeve and performed with pride and passion at Gleneagles.

With Reed, you always know what you've got. If he hits a bad shot, the shoulders slump, he will probably curse and he will thump his club into the ground. And when he gets on a roll, he will happily high-five everybody in sight.

There are those who think that the Tournament of Champions is bit of a joke. Really? How about the fact that everybody who walked to the first tee was a recent winner on the PGA Tour? Trust me, these guys were trying their hearts out, and nobody more so than Reed.

He played the regulation 72 holes in 21 under par before rolling in an 18-foot birdie to defeat fellow American Jimmy Walker in a play-off. Reed, 24, was four shots behind Walker with four holes to play but fought back to seal his fourth PGA Tour title.

"I thought my chances were slim but I just stayed patient," said Reed.

He joins some pretty elite company as only  the fifth player in the last 25 years to win at least four times on the PGA Tour before turning 25. The others were McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Confirming that he doesn't really care what anybody thinks of him, Reed also sported possibly the worst hat tan the world has ever seen in Hawaii. And his world ranking? That now stands at 14 - and only a fool would bet against him making it all the way to the top five.

Image Credit: @CallawayGolf Twitter

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Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]