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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLF

August 14, 2016

Patrick Reed

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Q. Thoughts on your performance overall this week?
PATRICK REED: Overall I would say disappointing. The first three days was not good, not good golf. Really today, I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty well. Felt like I got a bad break on 2, but I was able to salvage, still make par.
You know, 3, I think it's the easiest hole on the golf course, I bogeyed it two days in a row. So those are just kind of mistakes you can't have, and I felt like I was doing a lot after 3. I felt like I was doing a lot of things well; the ball just didn't want to go in the hole.
I made the turn at 1‑under, which is not very good with the conditions we had, because the calm winds, you should easily be able to shoot: 2‑under is respectable, I would say 3‑under is a normal round and anything above that is a good front nine.
But then when I got to the back nine, I started hitting the ball even better, hitting it closer, and I ended up shooting 6‑under on the back. It's good momentum going into next week. I just wish this was my first round and not my fourth.

Q. Any close encounters with the wildlife out there this week?
PATRICK REED: No, the closest I came to any wildlife was actually on 9 on the first day. I was on the left center of the fairway, and I kind of walked over towards the bunker to one of the sprinkler heads and one of the little owls was just on the lip of the bunker just standing there.
So I was only five feet from it, but it was so cool, because it was looking the other direction. Its head turned completely around to look at me but its body didn't move. That was pretty cool. That was the first owl I've seen in a while.

Q. No fear there?
PATRICK REED: Not at all. That thing wasn't even bigger than my foot.

Q. Obviously not the result you were looking for, but is there anything you can take away from your time here? You mentioned earlier in the week what an honour it was to represent Stars and Stripes?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, really, I don't know if it's that I tried to play too aggressive to shoot too low or whether I just put too much pressure on myself. But it just seemed like the first three days, well really, the first three days and then the first nine holes, I was pressing so hard to make birdies. You can't do that.
You just have to hit some good golf shots and all the work you've done on the range and throughout your life, that will show on the putting. On the back nine, I just decided, you know, free it up a little bit. Probably not when I get in these big events and stuff, probably not push too hard and try too hard, because when you do that, things can go south pretty quick.

Q. Just like the camaraderie with your teammates, it's different because you don't have the team medal and really at the end of the day, it's an individual event. Did you find camaraderie different than perhaps a Ryder Cup or were you guys still able to, besides wearing the same colours, is there anything more to this than that?
PATRICK REED: Bragging rights. All four of us are really good friends, so we like to give little jabs back and forth to each other, just stuff like that.
It is different than a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup, because at Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, it's match play. You're playing with one of your guys. You're either having to hit his ball or he's having to hit yours in alternate‑shot and it's strictly points against one other player. When you change match play to stroke play, it's completely different.
As far as the way you feel compared to a Ryder Cup in the Olympics, no. You have that same feeling, that same fire and pride that you have for wearing the Stars and Stripes. It's just something that you'll never forget.

Q. How about off the course; did you have a chance to go to any events?
PATRICK REED: We went to swimming and saw Michael Phelps win I think his 20th gold in the 200 fly. That was awesome. Justine, and my brother‑in‑law, Kessler, who is on the bag, they actually swam in high school, middle school, their whole life. I've never been to a swim meet before in my whole life and to go to an Olympics and watch him was unreal. It was so much fun. That will be something I never forget.
Hopefully I continue playing some good golf and in four years I can come back to play in the Olympics, because I would love to go back and watch some more.

Q. Have you met Michael Phelps or any athletes from other sports?
PATRICK REED: No, I'm not staying in the village, so I haven't really had an opportunity to meet any of the other players or any other athletes throughout the Olympics. But it's something that throughout my career, I'll definitely get to meet those guys.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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