CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE

May 26, 2021

Patrick Reed

Colonial CC

Press Conference

DOUG MILNE: We'd like to welcome Patrick Reed to the virtual press room here at the Charles Schwab Challenge. You are making your fifth start in the event and coming off Top-10 last year tied for seventh, thanks in large part to that 7-under 63 in round three. Just some thoughts on being back here to a place that's obviously near and dear to you.

PATRICK REED: It's awesome to be back. Especially with having fans this year, compared to last year, it's awesome to get just that interaction going and being back in Texas is always nice. Hot and humid, which is what I'm used to back home.

You know, really just seeing the golf course mature. I know it's rained a lot recently but just seeing how the golf course has changed just a little bit with the growth of trees and growth of how the rough is right now and everything, it seems like it's going to be a good test and a fun week.

DOUG MILNE: Great season, you picked up your ninth career TOUR win at the farmers insurance open and one of five Top-10 finishes, and two of your Top-10 finishes have come in your last four starts and just outside of the Top-10 last week at the PGA Championship.

Just assess the state of your game now as you're heading into the week.

PATRICK REED: Yeah, the game feels good. I mean it feels like a lot of the things we've been working on are starting to take shape and starting to hold. That said it gives me more confidence that I'm not only moving the right direction and able to hit quality golf shots and set myself up for more putts and birdies. I think that's the big thing when you come out here, especially this week with the conditions being softer, is there's going to be a premium on getting the ball in the fairway and being able to attack this golf course and with all the work we've done with the full swing and the golf game, it feels like it's rounding off nicely where I can attack the golf courses rather than sit there and still try to play golf swing.

Q. We're coming up to the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. It's a place where you've won earlier this year. How comfortable do you feel about this golf course?

PATRICK REED: Obviously with having the W there, you are more comfortable going into the week. But being a U.S. Open, knowing that they are going to make that place firmer, faster, more penalizing when you get in the rough and on top of it, there's some extra tees they have added to make that golf course longer, it's going to be a great test.

At the end of the day, going into a place like Torrey, you have to have full control not only off the tee but on second shots into the green and your putting has to be on. I mean, that's a place where you're going to have a lot of 4- to 6-footers for par, hopefully a couple of them for birdie but you have to make those putts in order to play well, especially at a U.S. Open.

Q. What did you take away from your game last week at the PGA Championship?

PATRICK REED: Biggest thing was I felt like I drove the ball, you know, okay. I felt like the driver needed to improve a hair and I was able to kind of get it dialed in towards the weekend and start hitting more quality drives, and I felt like you know, the game was actually where it needed to be. You know, a couple loose swings here or there, a couple burned edges here or there that cost me from being able to contend and have a chance to win the golf tournament. It felt good.

And I haven't hit that many long clubs into greens before. I hit a lot of 4-irons, 5-irons, hybrids into some of the greens and I felt like I was able to control those and hit the shot shapes I was trying to hit and really control the golf ball, which is something that ever since I switched to Leadbetter we're working on trying to get more comfortable with the full swing where it feels more automatic, and now it feels like it's getting a lot closer and where it needs to be.

DOUG MILNE: You've been out here for a long time, grown as far as your skill level and talent level goes on TOUR, and obviously I've seen you a lot over the years. Just comment on your feelings, how you've grown and developed as a player over the years to kind of put you in the position that you feel comfortable in that you're in today.

PATRICK REED: I think the biggest thing is when I first got on TOUR, and really same thing in college and amateur golf, is when you grow up, you live and die by every golf shot and you live and die by every round. Once I got out here and started playing more and then once I had my first little one, Windsor Wells, basically put perspective on the game of golf for me; that it's a job but it's not everything.

At the end of the day, you have to go out there and when you're inside the ropes and when you're working, you put in as hard work and as many hours as you can and full focus but then once you're off the golf course, especially with how long the seasons are with these wrap-around seasons, you have to learn how to let it go and kind of get away from the game and so you can mentally recharge.

That's the biggest thing out here: Everyone can hit the ball really well and everyone can make putts, but it's who can mentally hang in there week-in, week-out and who can flip that switch and focus really hard when they are playing and also who can shut it down right afterwards so they can be ready to play each and every week.

I feel like that's something we've been able to do really well and really dialing in the amount of work and the workload that we take on each week so we are fresh come tournament time. I'm a grinder. I love to work. I love to be out there grinding and if anything, if I err at all, I'm going to err on the overworking so come tournament time, you're not fully fresh where you should be.

DOUG MILNE: Obviously Phil was a unique situation last week, but are you surprised at how well and aggressive and good the young players coming out today are and does that fit into what you anticipated and expected?

PATRICK REED: I expected them to come out and be able to compete and play and have chances to win on the PGA TOUR because that's the generation growing up, just like my generation growing up, watching guys like Phil and Tiger play and compete and the way they were around the golf course, you could see how hard they were working and a lot of us try to emulate both the way they played and how hard they worked and what they did.

When you watch and you kind of mold yourself after their work ethic, you go out there and you start working that hard, it just instills in you that you have to work that hard and therefore you're going to improve a little quicker and guys are getting faster, stronger and bigger each and every generation and because of that, you're seeing faster speeds and you're seeing guys coming out and being able to compete right off the bat.

DOUG MILNE: Team Reed has always been something very important to you and very much time a team. The kids are getting older and Justine sill very much in the mix. How vital is the Team Reed component to your game today?

PATRICK REED: It's everything. You know, my team, when it comes down to Justine and my coaches and that side of the team, able to bounce things off, ideas, on the golf, how to prepare, how to do certain things and how to improve.

But then the other side of Team Reed where we have Justine as the wife and the two little ones, puts perspective on just life in general. I'm fortunate enough to play a sport for a living and to travel the world, see the world but then at the same time, at the end of the day, I go out and play golf and always you can control is what you do on the golf course.

If you go home, doesn't matter if I shoot 63 or 73 or 83. When you walk in the door, Windsor Wells and Hannah, you're their hero. Daddy's home. They don't care what happened on the golf course, they are just happy to have me back.

When you have that, that's amazing because you're able to kind of ride the highs but you're able to keep those in check where they don't get too high because if you get too amped, it's very easy to get out of pattern, but at the same time, when things are not going your way, they are there to pick you up and kind of put a perspective on life that even though today was a bad day, you still have two little ones and a family to go back to that really aren't focusing as much on golf and happy to see you.

DOUG MILNE: Speaking of that, what is your schedule like coming up?

PATRICK REED: I'm playing next week and week off then U.S. Open. So good thing to kind of get on this three-week run I started last week, and then have the U.S. Open and then after that I'll be playing Travelers, Travelers and then Detroit. Two little three-week runs here which will be fun and look forward to getting out playing and competing with the guys.

DOUG MILNE: Thanks for joining us and have a great week this week.