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WGC MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP

February 23, 2020

Patrick Reed

Mexico City, Mexico

Q. Patrick, congratulations from Sky Sports, a great win. How tough was it for you out there today to win this thing?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, it was tough. We got off to a really good start by hitting what I thought was a perfect 3-wood on 1 and making birdie there, but then after that it seemed like a lot of scrambling, a lot of getting up-and-down and a lot of pars.

And I had to make a push at some point, and to kind of be able to turn it on like I did on the back nine after making that solid putt on 11, I felt like really showed that I didn't let it get the best of me as well as didn't allow the frustrations of the front nine get to me, and I was able to push on and move forward and continue play the kind of golf I was playing.

Q. You are Captain America; you're a tough cookie. Where do you get that from?
PATRICK REED: I just think the biggest thing is every time I feel like I go to the golf course, anytime I go out and work with my coach, anytime I'm at home, I always feel like I have something to prove, not to anyone else but to myself, that I can continue to improve on and off the golf course and continue to do the unthinkable and pull off hard shots, make putts when I need to make them, just do the little things.

And I think because of that, it just has built up so much confidence with how I've played so far in my career with putting myself in these positions, I feel like I have a chance to continue and to have a chance to win these golf tournaments. Just the confidence is through the roof.

Q. Do you feel as though you've silenced a few critics this week?
PATRICK REED: Honestly, I don't know. Really at the end of the day, to me it doesn't really matter. For me, it's go out there and continue doing what I'm supposed to do, and that's try to play the best golf I can, try to be the best person I can, and try to set an example for the younger kids that are out here watching as well as my kids that are watching back at home.

If I feel like I'm doing that, that's all I can ask for. I feel like I've been doing a good job of that, and hopefully everything starts smoothing out and going the right direction.

Q. That was one of the best performances I've seen with the flagstick, and you putted even better earlier this week. Is this the best you've putted in a tournament ever?
PATRICK REED: It definitely has to be up there. You know, the putter was really hot. I felt like I was hitting a lot of really good putts, hitting it on my lines, and your speed has to be perfect. I felt like I was able to dial it in.

It definitely helped me out today because I didn't hit the ball that great on the front, had a lot of up-and-downs just to kind of hang around there, and I knew if I was able to get a little hot with the ball-striking, I'd be able to rack up some birdies, and I was able to do that at the end.

Q. Talk about the par save at 11. That hole got away from you a little bit, but you saved it.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, you know, it was kind of one of those, I've never really liked that iron shot, having to carve it around some trees, and because of that I got a little quick with it, hit a tree, and it went even farther right. And I thought I hit a good shot and it just landed on the cart path.

At that point I knew where Bryson was, so I knew I needed -- I couldn't make bogey on the par-5. I had to at least keep the momentum, make a par there, and making that putt kind of gave me that boost to go ahead and hit a good tee shot on the next hole and start my birdies.

Q. Talk about 16. It looked like it was going to go in from the fairway. You didn't know the situation where you were in the tournament, you thought you were still tied with Bryson?
PATRICK REED: Right, at that point I thought I was tied, and then all of a sudden when I was walking up towards the green, about 50, 60 yards out, a guy from -- who was in the stands -- not the stands but kind of to the right, just yelled: That putt is to win the tournament.

I'm sitting there going, okay, well, Bryson obviously must have made a bogey or something on 17, but then on top of it, I'm sitting there thinking, okay, well, how far of a putt do I have.

To be able to make the putt on 16 kind of gave me kind of a breather going into 17. Once I made that putt, I knew all I had to do was get off the tee box off on 18, and I barely did that. So I was able to scratch along on 18 and just get the job done.

Q. What does this mean to win here and to pick up this victory?
PATRICK REED: It means a lot. One of our goals was to go out and win a golf tournament and try to get in that winner's circle before Augusta, leading into Augusta.

And to be able to go ahead and do it before I even got to the Florida Swing definitely gives me momentum and gives me the confidence that we're playing really well, and now I just need to continue to grind, continue to work, and hopefully there's more coming up soon.

Q. You started the day one back, and you played so beautifully. What mentality, what emotion, what attitude did you bring to the golf course today?
PATRICK REED: The best thing was the same kind of attitude every time I come to the golf course: Something to prove. I go out there and feel like I have something to prove to myself that I deserve to be in the positions, I deserve to have a chance to win golf tournaments and put ourselves in contention. And, you know, when I get in those positions, being able to deal with the nerves and deal with the highs and lows that go on through the round.

And it definitely tested me today with the birdie barrages that were happening in front of us from Bryson and from Jon. For us to kind of birdie the first and then flat line and have to get up-and-down on almost every hole on the front nine, it was kind of one of those that I knew I had to stay with it, hit a couple quality golf shots and give myself a chance, give myself a putt to at least have birdie, because I think I hit three greens on the front.

I was able to do that. The way I won that golf tournament was I made that clutch par on 11 because I knew where Bryson stood, and I got that momentum going into 12, and I just drove the green there, and then at that point I felt like I was able -- I'd be able to kind of hopefully match him coming in since he was ahead of me and had some easy holes coming up.

Q. Eight victories now on the PGA TOUR, back inside the top 10 in the world. It's interesting you said you have something to prove. Where do you feel like you stand on the world stage amongst elite golfers right now?
PATRICK REED: Honestly, that's not -- I mean, it's really not for me to answer.

Q. Do you care about it?
PATRICK REED: I mean, of course. Everyone does. I mean, everyone looks at rankings. Everyone looks at majors, World Golf Championships, and you know, for me, it's just continuing to prove to myself that what I'm doing with my coaches, what I'm doing off the golf course is what's best for my game, what's allowing me to continue to put myself in positions.

And coming into this week, I felt like it really -- this week is more not only about endurance but also about the mental side. Being at altitude, you always feel like you're gasping for air. Being able to pull that adrenaline back and figuring out how to hit quality golf shots. I think it seemed like as it started getting harder for me and as the leaderboard started getting closer and closer, I seemed to be able to kind of kick it in gear and turn it on when I needed to.

Q. And finally, what has been a tough couple of months, how gratifying is it for you to win again?
PATRICK REED: Oh, it's always gratifying. Any time you can get in that winner's circle, it's amazing. Look, I gave myself an opportunity there at Tournament of Champions and Justin Thomas beat me in a playoff there. So coming into this week and playing with J. T., I was thinking, well, I knew I had to go out and play some really good golf.

You know, the crazy thing is when you get into an event like this, you're near the top of the leaderboard, it's not just the guys in the final group you have to worry about, it's all the guys around, because these are the top players in the world out here, so you have to worry about all the firepower. Jon Rahm yesterday shot 61 and got himself right back in the golf tournament. Looked like him and Bryson were about to do the same thing today.

We were able to get our head in the game and just kind of focus on what we needed to do and play some good golf.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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