Patrick Reed might not be the most popular golfer out there in the pro ranks but when anyone informs you that their life was in serious danger, you quickly bury any negative sentiment and reach out for the individual.
That’s now the growing reaction from the golf world in learning from Reed, post his two-over par 72 on day one of the Tour Championship, just how close the 31-year-old married father of one felt he came to dying.
Reed, who hasn’t played since the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T31) in Memphis, missed the first two greens in regulation but got up and down both times to save par.
He planned to take some time off to get healthy after injuring his ankle in Memphis, but wasn’t home long before he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs which meant missing the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs, the The Northern Trust and the BMW Championship after being hospitalised.
“I went on Thursday of the Northern Trust,” Reed said. “I was in there for, it felt like I was in there forever. I think I was there for five or six days.”
Asked if he felt his life was ever in danger, he said: “Oh, yeah. The first couple days the doctors were sitting there telling me to make sure you text your family quite a bit, talk to your family, because you just don’t know. I mean, this is not good. We’re not in a good spot right now.”
The real fear kicked in when Reed realised he was going through this alone, given ongoing Covid restrictions meant no visitors.
“Those first two days the only thing that was going through my mind is I’m not going to be able to tell my kids goodbye,” Reed said. “I’m not going to be able to tell them I love them. I’m not going to be able to tell my wife that I love her and give her a hug.”
Thankfully, Reed is on the mend. He was given the green light to fly from Monday. He’s still recovering, doing regular breathing exercises to clear his lungs, but he’s playing golf again, and although perspective might kick in that the Ryder Cup is no longer a big deal after going through something so serious, Captain America needs to be playing if he’s to earn a pick from skipper Steve Stricker who will make his six selections next week.
Reed hit just six greens in regulation but was 8 of 12 in scrambling. It’s getting there, he thinks:
“I’m just getting stronger every day,” he said. “I look forward to tomorrow going out and hopefully continuing to hit fairways. I hit 10 fairways today and if I continue doing that and playing from the short grass out here, we’re going to start dialling in the irons and keep the short game sharp and make some putts.”
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