Patrick Reed, the Masters champion, has never been a favourite tour golfer to many; he has been involved in numerous controversies, including his expulsion from the University of Georgia, apparently following a number of complaints from his golf teammates.
In trying to follow the life of this new star, I came across an incident of his notorious, prickly personality which flared up during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay
Hill, Florida, a couple of weeks back.
Reed’s ball was lying in dense undergrowth behind the 11th green and he claimed that there was interference by cables to his stance.
Apparently, the first rules official denied relief and a second official was summoned, although this happened prior to a spectator starting to record the incident. Reed demonstrated to the second official how, in his opinion, a cable was interfering with his intended stance and the following conversation ensued;
Official: “I think that you would need to take an abnormal stance to try to stand on the cable……You have a tough shot.”
Reed: “Not if I take a seven-iron (indecipherable).”
Official: “Mmmm.”
Reed: “Let me see if a seven-iron adds more.
Female voice: “Anyone else would get a drop out of there any day of the week.”
The spectator who was recording the incident on his smart phone and who later posted it on Twitter, claims that this comment was from Reed’s wife, Justine. This is probably correct, as she used to be his caddie and is known to almost always accompany him at these events.
It was then that Reed sarcastically made perhaps his most controversial comment;
Reed: “I guess my name needs to be Jordan Spieth, guys.”
This was presumably in reference to Spieth’s relief for an unplayable lie on his final round of The Open 2017, for a penalty of one stroke, which was a completely different situation. Quite understandably, this seemed to be the last straw for the second official, who walked away, saying:
Official: “Patrick, you just play away”.
This appeared to incense Reed, who then compounded his petulant behaviour by demanding:
Reed: “I want a third opinion…I’m allowed that…yeah I do, I do want a THIRD opinion….. from an UNBIASED source.” (my caps).
Wow! If he is looking for opinions, mine is that this is totally unacceptable behaviour from a leading, tour golfer – a Masters champion, which I hope will be followed up by the PGA Tour (and Jordan Spieth!). I cannot confirm whether Reed did get his demand for a third official ruling on the incident, which would be unique as a golfer is only allowed a second opinion, but it seems most unlikely that free relief was permitted, as he double-bogeyed the hole.
The official(s) denied relief to Patrick Reed on the basis of the exception to Rule 24-2, relief from immovable obstructions.
Exception: A player may not take relief under this rule if (a) interference by anything other than an immovable obstruction makes the stroke clearly impracticable or (b) interference by an immovable obstruction would occur only through use of a clearly unreasonable stroke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.
The deciding factor in arriving at a ruling is whether the player would have chosen the same club and stance, and would take on the same shot, if the immovable obstruction was not there.
I am disappointed to have to highlight another instance of a well-known professional golfer showing disrespect to a rules official. Many tour officials are volunteers and, in almost every case, have a far better knowledge and understanding of the rules of golf than the players that they try to assist with their rulings.
The author is a R&A certified tournament administrator and referee. He is a founding member of the Professional Golfers Association in Malawi, a teaching professional and a member of the Professional Golf Association of South Africa. For feedback:
E-mail : dingaank@gmail.com or call 0888 346 510.
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