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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2016

Patrick Reed

Palm Harbor, Florida

Q. There was only 11 birdies in the Snake Pit when were you playing the 18th hole. You got two of them. Almost had the trifecta there. I know you did get wind gusts in there at 18. That was a tough second.
PATRICK REED: You know, we thought I was more down than what it was. I knew it was going to be a stretch with my 51-degree, the maximum, that's 130 and it was 130 cover, 135 flag and, you know, I didn't want to play safe by hitting a softy wedge because I knew coming in flat like that it's going to hit and go 40 feet by.

I tried to go for it and it looked like it needed about a yard or two but I've been in that situation before on 18, the same pin where I tried to get cute and go for it and buried myself underneath the lip in the playoff last year.

Glad to get up and down without any damages and I felt like I played the holes really well yesterday. I walk off and was 2-over par. I needed to come back and get a little revenge.

Q. That's what it is, revenge. How hard is this golf course? Every shot really matters out here. You can't really take a break.
PATRICK REED: No. This golf course, it definitely tests your patience, also tests your golf game because even with hitting the golf ball you could be hitting the golf ball well and miss the green by a foot you could have a really dicey lie.

But the main thing, I think the hardest thing with all the players is honestly it's playing really fast on greens. They're not quite that fast. You set-up putts and mentally you're like I have to hit it but then all you think about is the previous years where you don't quite hit them as hard.

Today could have been a real special day as long as I would have hit the putts. I left a lot of them short.

Q. Talking about the greens with them being slow, do you think it might help you a little bit because they are so much different, you don't use past knowledge as much because all the guys early in the week are saying I'm just missing a lot of putts because I'm using the knowledge of playing here before and the greens really are that similar?
PATRICK REED: You know, I think the main thing for me is the speed. The breaks, they break basically the same. Yeah, they're a little faster break a little bit more but the hard thing for me is uphill putts, especially uphill 20, 25 footers getting the ball to the hole.

Get it through my head you can go ahead and pop this because it will -- it won't race way by and I don't think I've had a putt this week that I've actually ran by the hole where I had to worry about it.

If anything, I'm leaving them short and having to worry about them.

Q. How would you assess your round out there, 68?
PATRICK REED: I hit the ball well. I putted pretty solidly. I'm having issues getting the ball to the hole. It's kind of one of those things you're going to get some iron shots out here, you're going to hit a good one, not end up in the right spot because of the wind gusting, might catch one gust here or there, but the main thing is when you get those opportunities you got to make putts and seems through the first 15 holes for some reason I couldn't get the ball to the hole.

I would even give it a little extra. Just mentally I couldn't hit it hard enough. Finally on 16 had a downhill putt and 17 downhill putt. I told Kes, "I don't care what happens, get the stupid ball to the hole." I got them to the hole and both went in. Could have been a really special day but I just need to save that for tomorrow and go and make some putts tomorrow.

Q. So was that mentally at the forefront of your mind as you were staring down the birdie putts to kind of finish up strong, pull within striking distance of the leader?
PATRICK REED: For sure. One of those things, I was hitting a lot of good putts. I kept leaving them just short. They're in the middle of the hole.

I left four, five in a stretch of 11 holes in the middle of the hole just short and so I knew I was hitting my lines, I knew I was reading them well. I needed to get a little extra speed on them.

Going to 16 I didn't miss a golf shot I felt like yesterday, or today on 16, 17 or really 18, and I walked off at 2-over par on those three. Going in there we need to get a little revenge. What better way than going birdie, birdie par from finish.

Q. What are you drawing from last year being in a similar spot playing your way all the way to the playoff?
PATRICK REED: Just giving me a little more confidence, little comfort because last year I was watching it on TV, I think I was at 8-under with four to go starting on 15 and I was 3 back and was able to get into a playoff.

So, as long as the leaders -- I haven't really seen it, as long as the leaders aren't 6, 7 ahead, everyone has a shot. Make some putts and hit some close ones. There's a real low one out there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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