DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

December 11, 2020

Patrick Reed

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Press Conference

Q. Low round of the tournament, 64; strikes me as the sort of round a Race to Dubai No. 1 might shoot. How pleased are you with your performance today?

PATRICK REED: Anytime you shoot 8-under par you're always happy. I feel like today I got off to a little better start than I did yesterday and the putter was working a little bit. Yesterday I felt like I did a lot of things pretty well, just putts weren't really falling, was kind of burning a couple edges, a couple iron shots weren't as close as they needed to be, and today I tightened it up. I was able to hit the ball a little closer, give myself more opportunities and seeing the lines a little better today.

Q. We've been watching you beavering away on the range with your coach Sean Hogan. The results have been showing with the consistency that you've had. What exactly is it that you wanted to see change in your golf swing and what are you most proud of so far?

PATRICK REED: I think that's the biggest thing is the consistency. In the past, when I was swinging well and hitting the ball well, I could hit it close all day. But it was the days I was a hair off that the ball was just getting away from me too much, whether it was off the tee, iron shots into the greens. I was having to lean too much on my short game.

Today and this week and ever since I started kind of with the new swing, it just feels a little bit more controllable. It feels as if I don't have as big a curves going on irons and stuff, and because of that I feel like whether it's a right flag or left flag, I can aim closer to the hole rather than trying to aim farther away and trying to sling it in there. For me it's more of a comfort thing as well as just a consistency thing, because with how good the guys are out here, whether on the PGA Tour or European Tour, whether they're on, they're on. It's the days when it's not quite feeling right, the ball still needs to be in play, still needs to be on the green, still have a chance to make birdies. I think that's been the biggest difference so far. The misses are playable as far as you can still handle them, get up-and-down or even have a putt for birdie.

Q. Fantastic round of 64 today. What was the difference between the two days and how do you feel being in this position?

PATRICK REED: Yeah, I feel great, obviously, going out and shooting an 8-under par round today and getting myself into double digits by the end of two rounds. There's a lot of golf left. I feel like the biggest thing is yesterday just seemed like I kept burning edges, and a couple iron shots and scoring clubs that I didn't hit as close as I needed to and wanted to. I was able to warm up a little bit last night on the range after the round and kind of tighten things up, and today I gave myself a lot of chances. I hit it close on a lot of holes and therefore I saw lines a little better and I was able to free up the putter and make some putts.

Q. Giving yourself a lot of opportunities is not an easy thing to do on that golf course.

PATRICK REED: No, it's a tricky one, this golf course. The greens are a little softer this year than they have been in the past. You're able to kind of attack some of the flags.

The wind has kind of been swirling, and yesterday it was pretty breezy and today it seemed to kick up there towards the end. That being said, you just have to make sure you're hitting some quality golf shots, hitting the ball in the middle of the face, kind of have full control, and if you're able to do that, then you're able to kind of attack. With it being softer you've got to pick your battles to attack, and I feel like I've been able to do that, and when I have given myself the green light, I've been able to capitalise on it.

Q. I just wanted to ask about how important the fast start today was.

PATRICK REED: It was very important. I think the biggest thing was this morning whenever I was kind of on the way to the golf course and clicked on the leaderboard and saw some of the guys were attacking this golf course early. You knew at that point, especially when I got to the first tee. The wind was relatively down, so because of that you're able to just kind of hit and shoot. That being said, to be able to go out and make some birdies early on and kind of get the round started and get the round going, I feel like it gave me confidence going on forward throughout the round because you know once the afternoon starts coming around and the wind starts to pick up a little bit here and starts switching a little bit of direction, and with that said, you knew there was going to be some of those holes that in the morning might have been a shorter iron and in the afternoon it's going to be a longer club, so you kind of just have to ride it, and I was able to do that and capitalise towards the end there, as well.

Q. You're halfway to the end of the tournament and you're in prime position; you must feel satisfied at the very least. If you don't, I'd be very interested to hear why you don't.

PATRICK REED: Yes, I'm happy in the position I'm in, obviously. I felt like yesterday I left way too many golf shots out there, and today, even though I probably stole a couple here or there, I still felt like I left a decent amount out there early in the back nine, even on the front nine that were shortish putts that I didn't make.

As a whole, anytime you have the lead, a share of the lead, whatever it ends up being at the end of the day, you're always going to be pleased. You put yourself in position going into the weekend to have a shot at it, and that's all you can ask for is giving yourself a chance to win a golf tournament.

Q. I was just wondering were you aware last night of the projections of the Race to Dubai? Obviously it had Victor projected to win because he was leading. Or were you completely oblivious to that?

PATRICK REED: Yeah, honestly I haven't really looked. Throughout the week I haven't looked at it. I obviously know where I stand going into the week. I know that if I win the golf tournament or finish second alone that, unless there's one or two guys that win the golf tournament, I end up winning the Race to Dubai.

Really the way I'm looking at it is everyone is starting at zero, trying to go out and win the golf tournament, and if you take care of business and win the golf tournament, then the Race to Dubai will take care of itself.