HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 27, 2023

Patrick Reed

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Wonderful finish, eagling the last, and taking you up to the lead. With everything that's happened at the start of the week with Tee-Gate, how proud are you of your own performance up to now?

PATRICK REED: I'm obviously really happy with the way I played. I felt like last week wasn't really a reflection of all the hard work I've been doing in the off-season. It was more getting rusty on playing tournament golf.

So to come out this week and feel like I was able to putt everything together and to have my mind right on game planning and course management was definitely a plus. I've never seen this place before, and coming in and seeing it for the first time and knowing and kind of realising that it's more of a positional golf course rather than just hit it wherever, and I feel like I had full control of the golf ball and made a couple putts.

Q. It's been a stop/start round up till now and obviously the green keepers have worked so hard to prepare the golf course. How impressed have you been with that and what's been the greatest challenge?

PATRICK REED: They have done an unbelievable job. With just the conditions, we're in the desert and we don't expect it to rain, and with how much it has rained and for them to get the golf course to not just playable but to get it where it's in really good shape is amazing. It shows how great they are at their craft.

You know, biggest thing this week obviously is going to be all the stopping and starting. Today it looks like those are the only two holes I'm going to play all day. So it's just trying to stay loose, but at the same time not wear yourself out and just kind of be ready for a long day either tomorrow or the next day.

Q. With just the two holes that you played, were you able to get a flavour of what it's like out there and what can you expect for the rest of the field trying to get round fun done?

PATRICK REED: It all depends. Couldn't get that much of a field, considering 17 and 18, 3-wood, wedge on 17 and then 18, if you hit a good tee shot you can hit an iron into the green on the par 5. Because of that, the golf course seems like it's playing somewhat how it was in the morning yesterday afternoon, yesterday.

But the greens are a little bit more receptive. They are rolling nice, and you know, premium is just putting the ball in the fairway. Put the ball in the fairway you're always going to have a clean lie and good looks. But if you start hitting it off-line, that's how you're going to start getting into trouble around here.