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HUMANA CHALLENGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CLINTON FOUNDATIONJanuary 19, 2014Patrick ReedLA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA MARK STEVENS: We would like to welcome the 2014 Humana Challenge champion, Patrick Reed. In partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Patrick this is your second win in your last eight starts I believe. Do you want to talk about the final round and your thoughts coming down the stretch, and then we'll have a few questions. PATRICK REED: I mean, final round was a lot tougher than the first three rounds, obviously. But I felt great all day.  I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots and felt like I hit a lot of good putts as well. My speed was off today. I left a lot of putts short. It seemed like the first three days the ball was just trickling over the front edge, and today it seemed like it came it a screeching halt just short. In that aspect it was tougher. But coming down the stretch, knowing what we needed to do, it was a crucial up‑and‑down we had on 13 and then from there it just seemed to kind of go in coast mode. We made a good par on 14, actually, wouldn't really say a good par. I felt like I hit a perfect putt, and it actually lipped out on the high side. But to birdie 15 to know I sealed it then, you know, it felt comfortable, it felt great. I was able it play the last three holes just for par rather than trying to make birdies or trying to make something happen. MARK STEVENS: Okay. Questions? Q. The putt on 15, it was about 18 feet? PATRICK REED: Yeah. Q. Up until that point, were you starting to feel the pressure of shooting 63 and 62 ahead of you or were you still trying to keep that calm demeanor? PATRICK REED: I was trying to stay calm, due to the fact that I remember looking at leaderboard last year. I always look at the leaderboards the year prior to kind of see what makes the cut, what usually wins the number, try to get my mindset on if I have to go extremely low or what kind of the game plan is. Because that also indicate on how the PGA TOUR sets up the golf courses. There was a ton of nine‑unders and 10‑unders last year on the final round. So, I knew guys were going to go shoot it. I just had to be ready, that if guys were going to shoot it that were really close to me, that were at 7, 8, 9 shots behind me coming into the day, then I knew I had to go out and shoot a number. I probably could have grinded a little harder on the last two holes, but at the same time I was just‑‑ I just knew that well, really the last three holes, I just knew that I couldn't make a big number to bring everybody back into it. So I just coasted in, tried to make some pars. Q. Middle of the 18th fairway you decided to go right and lay up. And not just the water, right? PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah, I hit 3‑wood off the tee instead of driver, because driver if it gets down that hill on the left will actually get to the water. So I hit 3‑wood off the tee and just laid up with a 7‑iron to about 107 yards and I said all right we'll hit it 20 feet short of the hole and 2‑putt and walk away. I did just that. And to be able to do that, and to win that kind of way. It felt great not having to either go into a playoff or make birdies down the end to try to close something off. Q. I would like to say congratulations to you, I'm a Reed also, so congratulations to the Reed clan? PATRICK REED: Thanks. Q. I would also like to ask‑‑ we were talking, some colleagues and I, were talking earlier about how you looked on the course. You had four bogeys out of the first nine holes. We were wondering, was that nerves, were you tired, what was going through your head at that span? PATRICK REED: You know, not a lot. I wasn't tired. I woke up at 4 this morning, went to bed early. So I felt, I actually felt when it came down to energy, I felt great. I felt like I was hitting the ball well. It just seemed like the first three days every putt seemed to fall into the‑‑ on the edges or everything would go in. And it just kind of seemed like today I hit a lot of great putts, and it would either come and just stop just short, or it would break at the very end and break off the planet and lip out on of the left or right side. It seemed like nothing would go in today. To have a day where I felt like I had probably about my C or D game and still shoot under par, and to close off a victory, that means a lot to me. Q. How nervous did you get when it got to three and two? PATRICK REED: You know, I was getting a little nervous when it got down there, but with the work that we did with Callaway earlier this week with the new driver, I put in the Alpha. And now that driver, and the 3‑wood, both of them it seemed like I could ‑‑ I was still able to go 43 inches with my driver shaft and still not lose any distance. Almost hit it farther. For them to come out with that technology and that kind of a driver, where I don't lose distance, but I hit it straighter, it meant a lot especially coming down the stretch, when I knew that there was some holes I was going to be able to take advantage of that and be able to use my length and hit it straighter. I mean it just seemed ‑‑ it seemed like I still was in control. Because those guys that were catching up to me and getting really close also were two, three holes ahead of me. Q. What driver length did you have? PATRICK REED: Ever since I switched to my swing coach, Kevin Kirk, I've stuck with 43 inches, just because I stay a little bit better in pattern in my swing. And working with Callaway, since Byron Nelson last year, they were able to really fit me with the right kind of equipment, right kind of shafts and a combination that really keeps me going and allows me to feel confident in everything I'm doing. Q. When did‑‑ how long ago was it before you, when you used a longer driver, 44 or 45? PATRICK REED: Right before Byron Nelson last year. Q. What was that? PATRICK REED: I was at 44 and a half. Q. Did the pace of play add to the pressure? I timed your standing outside that trap on number 10 for seven and a half minutes. Does that really amp up the pressure and tightness in a situation like that? PATRICK REED: Well, it does. You never really got to get in a rhythm today. It kind of ‑‑ I thought we were going to be able to, first hole seemed to go really smooth. Then we finished the first hole, got to the second hole and there was two groups on the tee. One group was just walking off, then you had Driscoll's group right in front of us, and then they were just waiting. So I was like, all right, well this is going to be a long day. And I thought when that hole was over, we would be fine because it's a par‑5, everyone can reach it in two. Then we got to that par‑3, with water left and short and I think that's 5? That's one of the hardest holes on the golf course, and you had two groups on the tee so you're sitting there waiting for 15, 20 minutes. That's a great hole to sit and wait whenever you hit draws, by the way. I purposely hit that ball right of the green. I was like, all right, hit it in the fairway, especially when I was playing with Brendon Todd, who rallied off three birdies early and hit it left in the water. I was like, all right, hit it right and then try to get up‑and‑down. I played the way I wanted to, I just didn't make par. Q. Would you say you've always played with something to prove, you enjoy that part of things? PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah. I always play to try to prove to everybody that I belong out here, as well as, I belong, not only out here on the PGA TOUR, but also with the best players in the world. And I think what I did this week with rattling off 63 three days in a row, and then being able to coast in with a victory, definitely shows that, due to the fact that, I mean, as far as I know, 63 three days in a row has never been done before. Q. Were you surprised at all by this week or did this confirm things that you believed in yourself? PATRICK REED: I mean, you know, it just confirmed things that I believed in. And not only in my game, but also all the hard work we have put in for over the 20 years or 22 years I've played golf. Ever since I was a little baby. We have worked so hard at it, and especially with my wife and I, how hard we have worked the past two and a half years, through Q‑School, through the Monday qualifiers, and through here to get two wins in less than half a year. That's definitely puts a chip on my shoulder to go do it again. Q. You hear a lot of players say their first win's the biggest one. A lot of players say the second one is the biggest win. How do you feel about those two wins, especially coming right on kind of on top of each other as they have? PATRICK REED: The first one was huge. Not only for myself, but also to do it with my wife on my bag, especially with all the work she's done, not only in golf but also throughout her life, how hard she works at everything. With what she did through school, and with working with my golf game, and then also to go out and win the last tournament the last year at the Wyndham the way we did it, that was huge. And then to turn around and then know we're having a baby girl and have that little extra pressure. We just bought a new house as well, and we bought two cars, after our win. So you know, we got all the luxuries that we wanted and then to go out and secure the victory with my brother‑in‑law on the bag the way we did, it was, we want more. We want more of that feeling. We want to be able to sit up here more often with a trophy in front of us. Q. How long you been playing golf? And when did you start? One or two? PATRICK REED: Yeah. I mean when I was born, there was a golf club in my crib. So I probably say when I first started walking, that's when I was swinging a golf club. Q. So, was there like a high chair in your garage or something? PATRICK REED: Yeah, I mean, I have no‑‑ I mean honestly, probably it was just when I started walking so I would probably say three or four. Maybe five. I started playing in ‑‑ the work that we have done these past two and a half, three years, I mean with my new swing coach, Kevin Kirk on all that, it's just been, that's been the real difference. And the hours that we have put in with him, and also at the Woodlands Country Club has just been‑‑ that's the difference of me sitting up here than me going home. Q. What does this mean then in terms of momentum, confidence, what have you, going forward? Now you have proven you can do it again and to do it the way you did it this week, I'm sure that now you don't feel indestructible, but you feel pretty good going forward after this. PATRICK REED: Right. We feel great. The main thing is just to keep improving in my game. Things that I need to work on. There's a couple things out there that I saw this week that I still need to work on and fix. And if I fix those things, then I plan on up here more often. And that's the goal to have multi win years, not just one win every year. Q. You're kind of a perfectionist though, aren't you, you were talking earlier in the week about what constitutes an extraordinary round, and you set pretty high standards yourself. PATRICK REED: Right. Yeah, I mean, you could say I'm a perfectionist, but at the same time, to be the best at what you do, you have to be. You have to try to figure out what the small things are to fix that will give you the edge over everyone else. And we're learning from experiences like this where you have a huge lead, I never had a huge lead before going into a Sunday, and I kind of put it on cruise control, rather than try to go shoot really low numbers and make birdies. But besides that, it seems like all these experiences we're having are going to be able to find a new game plan, so then whenever I have these situations, I won't win by two or three, I'll be able to close it out by the 8th or 9th hole. Q. You talk about being on cruise control. Was that the game plan from the beginning? PATRICK REED: Sorry, it's the president. (President Clinton called in.) Sorry, he's a little bit more important. (Laughter.) Q. Forget my previous question. What did he just tell you? What did he have to say to you? PATRICK REED: He was congratulating me, not only on a great win, but also told me to get myself back in that zone more often. Because he said it was a lot of fun to watch and also there to stay really cool, how cool and calm and collected I was all week. And that's key out here. You have to be. To hear that not only from others, but also hear it from the president, that's special. Q. To follow‑up, what I was asking you about being on cruise control, was there a point in the round maybe when it got to just two strokes that you were wondering, man, maybe I shouldn't be on cruise control? PATRICK REED: Yeah, when I hit the hook on ‑‑ well I wouldn't say the hook, I actually hit a small draw at the bunker on 13. Didn't think I could get driver into the bunker and ended up going into the trap. I hate fairway bunkers. I mean, end up catching that one a little heavy and ended up short. And then having a 5‑footer I think for par. I knew that if I didn't make that putt, then it was going to get interesting. And to make that putt, especially with how I've been struggling with putting today for some reason, but to make that putt kind of gave me a little, a little bit more fire saying, all right, well, we're running out of holes for people to make a lot of birdies, as well as you got a lot of easy holes coming up. I mean 14, the par‑5; 15, the short par‑3; 16, short par‑4; 17, really short par‑3; and then 18, if I need to I can hit driver and 6‑iron. I hit 6‑iron where that flag was yesterday, so I figured that if I needed to, then I would be able to make a birdie coming in. But once I made that par, and then I parred 14 and then birdied 15, I just was like, all right, let's hit away from the water on 16, middle of the green, and just try to get it done. Q. You jumped about 30 spots in the world rankings and get into Match Play with that, what does that do Tour schedule like the next month? PATRICK REED: I honestly don't know yet. I was planning on playing the whole Western swing. We'll have to see. I'll have to sit down with my wife, my brother‑in‑law, and also my agents and kind of figure out what we want to do on the schedule situation. I love to play, I love to compete. If it was up to me I would play every single week. But at the same time, if that was the case, then I would definitely probably not be living, because how hard it is out here on the road going from place to place. So we'll sit down and evaluate the schedule, but I'm definitely not going to back down and not play. We're definitely going to play a lot and try to get a couple more wins and get higher up in the World Ranking and FedExCup at the end of the year. Q. Did you have a chance to meet the president during the week, shake his hand, either this week or last year? PATRICK REED: Actually it was his pep talk that allowed me to hit three 63s in a row. He came up and shook our hand and introduced himself and we talked for a little bit on the driving range, right before the first round out here. And it's always, it's always a fun experience to meet a president. I met president Obama after we won NCAA's and to meet President Clinton, it's cool feeling, that's for sure. And to actually sit down and just talk to him on a driving range just like we're all normal people, it's fun. Q. And he told you to go out and shoot three 63s? PATRICK REED: Yeah, actually, yeah, exactly. (Laughter.) He basically told me to have a good week. And we talked about, when he heard that Justine is having a baby girl, and he just told us that that was what his best experience of his life was his child. And also to do that, I mean, you know, it's nice to hear that. Because I can't wait. I can't wait to be a dad and have a little girl running around at the golf course and whenever I come home have her run up, hanging out with dad. So just to hear that from a president and also other people, I mean, I can't wait. Q. Part of that was my question, just the pep talk. Do you really think the pep talk and the 63s are connected? PATRICK REED: Could be. We don't know. (Laughter.) You know, it's one of those things that you don't really know what's going to trigger three 63s, nonetheless just one. Q. You mentioned a few minutes ago that you identified some things on the golf course that you need to tweak and improve. What are those? PATRICK REED: The cut shot, especially with the driver. It seemed like every time I setup to hit the driver it would either be straight or a draw, you know. And feel more comfortable when there's trouble left. It seemed like on every hole out here that whenever there was trouble left I bailed out right, either into a bunker or into the right rough, I just need to get a little bit better on trusting my swing and trusting my lines that I can step up and make the same golf swing whether trouble's left or trouble's right, it doesn't really matter. So those are just a couple things. Just keep on getting consistent with the putter. Hit good putts. And also consistent with distance control on iron shots. Q. Where do you think the confidence has come from? You seem to have it your whole life and how important is it to get off to get off to this quick start, winning twice in 13 months? PATRICK REED: The confidence came from back when I was a little kid. Playing in Texas when I was like six and seven, playing a bunch of junior events and just going and just going and winning. I won lot of those. And then I carried that on into junior golf. And then when I got to college, the way I played in college. And then to win 6‑0 in match play, to win two NCAA's, to beat great players in match play. I mean, I was playing against the top players on each team, Peter Uihlein and those kind of guys. Harris English. And to beat them the way I did, it just kind of gave me more confidence. And then last year, once we switched to Callaway, and it just seemed like when I made that switch and the equipment that they gave me and the new balls that they gave me, especially this new one, the Speed Regime, it's amazing. It seems to not really to be affected by any of the wind. And that just gives me more confidence knowing that, okay, it's 130, if it's into the wind it's probably going to play 132 rather than playing 140. And to do what I did from Byron until now and then what we did on Monday qualifying, I mean, everything just adds up on the confidence level. Q. Do you think that the belief in yourself is what's allowed to you win twice so quickly? PATRICK REED: Oh, for sure. But it's not only the belief in myself, but it's also all the hard work that we put into it. Because you can still believe in yourself, but if you don't put in the hard work, it's not going to get done. And the amount of hours that we have put into the golf and into our practices, into our preparations, is the reason why we sit up here twice. MARK STEVENS: Okay, thank you, congratulations, and thank you for the time. PATRICK REED: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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