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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

August 5, 2016

Patrick Reed

Cromwell, Connecticut

Q. Happy birthday.
PATRICK REED: Thanks. I appreciate it.

Q. How did it go out there today?
PATRICK REED: A little bit better. Felt like I had a little bit more control on distance today and really felt like I hit the ball a lot more solid today. Only really one or two golf shots I felt like were probably poor.

Besides that, felt like it was solid. Need to make a couple more putts. Seemed like today I had more opportunities and was kind of burning edges. Couldn't get them to fall.

Q. You told me that yesterday, that you were burning edges but you were pretty happy with your ball striking. Did you work on that yesterday afternoon?
PATRICK REED: No. Really what I did is just went back and reset some things on some drills I do inside when I got back to the house.

Then coming out today, I was like, All right, well, yesterday everything was going forever. A little cooler this morning, so I was like, so just play off yesterday's numbers basically. Seemed to work.

As the day went on I started clubbing down less and less.

Q. How was the gallery with you on your birthday?
PATRICK REED: Gallery was awesome. Nothing like playing with Bubba and Kuch. Those two guys, they were giving it to me all day. It was fun. It was fun to be a part of.

It was great to be able to play here on my birthday.

Q. Any Olympic (indiscernible) going on out there yesterday?
PATRICK REED: Of course. You always have the USA chants. I mean, once we finished this last hole, two or three of us birdied it, and that's -- Bubba tried to get them to start cheering happy birthday for about the fifth or six time on the day. It was unsuccessful, because all you heard was USA the whole time.

It was really cool. Just hopefully play a pretty good weekend here and get some momentum going into next week.

Q. That USA stuff has to send a chill through you, though.
PATRICK REED: Oh, it does, any time you hear it. Even if you're walking off a hole or up to the green and have ten or fifteen guys yelling it, it's awesome.

Q. How does it feel when the fans know it's your birthday?
PATRICK REED: You know, it was pretty cool. Had kind of the same feeling I had last year coming into Friday. I wasn't particularly pleased with how I played Thursday and I had to birdie 9 last year to make the cut.

This year I'm sitting here and I know I'm inside the cut by one at least. You know what? Let's get sweet revenge and make birdie on the last, which I did.

Had half the people chanting happy birthday and the other half chanting for all of us, USA, so it was so cool. For the tournament this early in the morning to walk up to that first tee and to have a happy birthday balloon there and cupcake with a candle in it was pretty cool.

Q. What was the difference in your game from yesterday to this morning?
PATRICK REED: I think the main thing was distance control. I seem to hit the ball a little better on my distances into the greens. I was giving myself a little bit more opportunities for birdie. Yesterday seemed like everything was hit really well just long on everything.

Today we were playing a little earlier; it was a little cooler; the ball wasn't going as far. I was able to kind of (indiscernible) the distances a little easier.

Besides for the iron shot really on 8, which I hit over the green, besides that, I felt like I hit it pretty solid. That's the key right now, because I feel like I'm hitting it pretty well.

Q. Going watch the ceremonies tonight, the opening of the Olympics?
PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah. Might even put on our jacket and call Bubba and have him and Kuch put on his at the same time.

Q. On the first tee, we were there. Put the candle there and you blew it out with a left-handed driver swing. Did I think about that or did it just happen?
PATRICK REED: Just kind of happened. The balloon was on the left side so I couldn't swing right handed. I was like, All right. If I just flip the toe over and kind of swing a little high instead of actually bending over to get down the ground to blow it out, it's fitting at golf tournament to blow it out with a golf swing.

Q. It was awesome. We enjoyed it. Thank you for that. It was pretty early in the morning. After that, things didn't get going quite as quickly.
PATRICK REED: Yeah. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty solid. I had an awful putt on the first putt on 10. That kind of kept the spirits up by making that 6-footer for par on the first hole of the day.

From there on I hit the ball exactly how I wanted to. I hit a lot of quality putts how I wanted. The ball just didn't seem to want to find the hole. At least the golf course besides No. 10 was feeling easy to me.

That 16, 17 stretch, I hate those two holes. Oh, my gosh. I mean, every year, doesn't matter how good I'm hitting the ball, every year I make those holes so difficult.

I think this year it is the first time I hit 17 fairway. I'm normally in the left rough or in that left bunker. I'm two for two hitting the fairway and having 9-irons in my hands both times.

Maybe I need to go back to the comfort level and hitting it into the left rough. Might make the mistake a little easier. It's good to come down 8 and make a quality par putt there.

And then coming down 9, knowing I'm inside the cut by 1, or I think I was inside the cut by 1 at 2-under, that's where I was thinking I was going to be, and birdie is that hole this time.

Last year I had the same kind of situation. Didn't play how I wanted to on Thursday. Stepped up on the last day and I needed to birdie 9. I had a putt just behind that same exact flag and I missed it just low from about seven feet.

So it was sweet revenge to go ahead and birdie that hole, even though really just got me a little closer to the lead. Wasn't a matter of making the cut or not.

Q. The reception of the folks out there today?
PATRICK REED: Oh, man.

Q. You have to have enjoyed that.
PATRICK REED: Yeah. This is why I keep on coming back. The golf course not only is great and the tournament is run so well, but it's the people. The people here are so nice and so welcoming. They really didn't have to come out at 8:00 in the morning to watch us tee off and have Bubba start them singing happy birthday. Bubba kept doing it all round, so they kept on doing it.

Not only that, hearing the chants for USA, you know, the fans here are just awesome. I'm glad I was able to come and put together a decent round to get it going.

Q. How hard is it to keep your mind on this knowing what's coming?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, it's tough. I mean, I would love to be there at the opening ceremonies. At the same time, I committed to this event a long time ago. Whether I was in the Olympics or not, there was no doubt I was going to come play because I love this event. There is no reason for me to miss it.

To be here and to play, it means a lot. It would mean a lot to me to play a really solid week and climb that board because really haven't fared really well here throughout the entire tournament. Just kind of one of those things. I want to get the step forward, keep moving forward, and put the pedal down.

Q. I hear Bubba was choir director on the 10th hole leading the fans.
PATRICK REED: 10th hole, 12th hole, 14th -- seemed like every hole. He got them going on 5. It's just cool. It's really cool to come to a place that Justine and I like so much and be able to play for the crowd, especially on your birthday, and knowing you need an under par round to make a chance to make the cut, because yesterday shooting even at that time was outside the cut. To come out and shoot in the 60s on your birthday is pretty cool.

Q. Going to miss the opening ceremonies tonight. Do you have plans to watch them? Do you feel like a twinge of regret at all about not going down there?
PATRICK REED: I don't regret it at all, no. I would love to be there. I would love to experience the opening ceremonies. At the same time, I love this event and I wouldn't miss this event.

This is the one event I seem to consistently play every year. Sometimes I keep on beating myself up wondering why it is that you keep on coming to a place that you're always struggling to make the cut.

But the golf course, how good it is, and what happened on the 10th tee at 8:00 a.m., the support you have from the fans, they didn't have to do that. They didn't have to greet me happy birthday or anything like that. That's the reason we come back to these events, is because how awesome the people are, how well they're running the golf course.

Q. Andy Burset spoke to a lot of the guys, the three of you and some guys that decided not to go. Were you part of that and what was his message?
PATRICK REED: What do you mean?

Q. He said he talked to guys that were going and guys that were not going. Was there a message that he delivered?
PATRICK REED: Not really. He just told us to enjoy it. It's one of those things. It's every four years. You have to go enjoy the experience. Carry the flag high and strong, because you need to go and represent the country and play well and also carry yourself well.

It's one of those things you're now in a different kind of category. Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups you're playing you're for your country as well, but now all of a sudden golf is an Olympic sport. You have to go over there, and not only during that week and during the Olympics do you have to carry yourself well, but all the time. You have to set an example.

I think that's a key thing that's very important. Now that you're in a different category, you have to carry yourself a little differently as well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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