Reeds scrape away

[cardoustie]

He did the same in round 2 at the Hero

that is a pattern well established

[MtlJeff]

Haven't checked on this in a day or so....have we doxxed him or boycotted and picketed his sponsors yet?

 

[Gautama]

To me, while neither is particularly honorable, there's a mile of difference between gaming the system and bald-face cheating. The Kuchar, McCarron, Langer type situations are guys pushing the rules to arguably disingenuous limits, but they're doing it in plain sight and not trying to hide it. They're exploiting the rules.

What Reed did here, and before, is the kind of sneaky, "you didn't see that" cheating that this game, more than any other, abhors. It's as offensive as a guy dropping a ball down the side of his leg and yelling "found it." And to compare it to routine penalties in other sports as some have done in this thread, or to claim "you can't judge Patrick you don't know what his intent was" is just self-righteous tripe.

The man was shown on TV to be cheating on as grand a scale as we've ever seen televised in this game, and people are going to talk about it. As they should. And yes, they're probably even more incensed that it's Reed because his previous behavior, and the feedback given so readily by so many around him (including his own family for heaven's sake), tells us this guy is bad news.

[Philomathesq]

Anyone else watching the live coverage on the Golf Channel? Reed was suppose to come to the podium at 10pm Eastern, then it was changed to 10:30pm, and he still hasn’t shown up. Wonder if they are still prepping him on what to say and what not to say.

[Philomathesq]

Jesus, this guy has no scruples. He doubled down on the fact that he didn’t know he moved the sand. He also said it would be cheating if he did it intentionally, but since he didn’t have any intention to break the rules, he isn’t a cheater.

[tungstenplug]

 

https://twitter.com/dylan_dethier/status/1204237121147604992Classic jab from JT

 

[jt2gt]

If it was unintentional, what were you trying to do when you pulled the club back and scraped the sand a couple times? -- That's the question the reporters should have asked. Just asking over and over was it cheating, is a softball question.

[CasualLie]

RE: JT's jab at P. Reed.

Yep, that about sums it up. Internet aflame over PR cheating. Meanwhile, millionaires playing golf, got each other's back, and having a laugh without a care in the world.

[bullie76]

His explanation is ridiculous. Anyone that moved the amount of sand he did would have felt it. And should have seen it. He should have said he simply had a brain fart and thought he had more lead way in a waste bunker to ground his club. Even that would be hard to accept as all pros knows the do's and don'ts in a waste bunker. He already had a cheating reputation from college.....this just adds to his poor reputation. Something that he will never overcome.

[cardoustie]

Branded hammering him right now

[cardoustie]

How can Reed say he didn’t know he moved sand ... it is sooooo visually apparent

when they pull up round 2 issues it will get worse for Reed

[Hawkeye77]

Is there anything we can find sourced on the round 2 issue? Tried searching but nothing so far. Just curious to see it or read about it.

[cardoustie]

Someone should have 16th hole round 2 still on their pvr

[straightshot7]

He's a cheater. It's really that simple.

Those defending him are probably cheaters too.

[tw_focus]

To cheat is one thing, but to do it in TW's own tournament that you were lucky enough to get invited to is a disgrace. No way he's invited back next year, probably never again.

[CasualLie]

[tacklingdummy]

Perhaps he was sugar coating it, but I think Rory was genuinely giving an honest opinion. He has not been known to sugar coat much when it comes to his opinions on golf. Pretty honest. To me what is puzzling is that he knows the camera was right behind him and still does it? Weird.

Golf Digest does some articles that interview undercover pros and the spill the beans on what they see on the course at PGA tour events. There are lots of pros on tour that break rules covertly but don't get caught.

[Golfjack]

Further proof that nobody was fooled, and he has no friends on the team. Remember JT is Spieth's buddy, and those two definitely did not get along. I didn't even see the Reed video till just now, thinking it was just a few grains. Dude was blatantly moving sand away purposefully. It wasn't like he just touched it and called it on himself. He excavated a good amount of sand, materially (this doesn't even matter) improving his lie, twice. I think he thought it was OK, since he does it plenty in the rough. I've seen him do it with different clubs pretending like he's check to see how it sits. That's BS and should be outlawed IMO.

[MattyO1984]

Quoted over night as saying - “I wasn't trying to improve a lie. If you break the rules unintentionally, it's not cheating." In other news, Bill Clinton did not intended to have relations with that women so really, he wasn’t cheating on Hilary.

 

If the guy had shown some remorse over the situation, I may have been tempted to cut him some slack but now, that boat has well and truly set sail on that possibility. He has only gone and made the target on his back even bigger.

[braincramp52]

I will say one thing though. If there is one guy on tour who if he never spoke to another player or reporter he would be fine with it.... It's Reed. People who are narcissists are always convinced beyond a doubt that every issue they come across is someone else's fault or problem.

[caniac6]

I've never seen a guy start a practice swing with his club grounded right behind the ball. Every player I've seen take a practice swing stands to the side. I have hit sand with my backswing, and I've noticed it, and it was nowhere the amount of sand he moved TWICE! He cheated his big old butt off, and now he's lying about it.

[bladehunter]

Wow. I tell you. I’m leaning more toward loathing this like i loathe my local cheaters. And I’m the guy who will give anybody the benefit of the doubt. But this is pretty hard to defend. It’s very very obvious. Even changes clubs from the scoopier backed wedge to a straight backed iron to hit the actual shot.

[BMC]

He cheated and then he lied. Should be suspended. He'll always have this reputation. Sponsors should drop him.

[JohnnyCashForever]

You're right. There is a mile of difference between gaming the system and bald-face cheating. Bald-faced cheating is more honorable.

Reed got caught. He got punished, and we all eventually move on...congratulating ourselves all along the way for being better than that cheater Reed. The game and its integrity are maintained.

Gaming the system is entirely dishonorable since it chips away at the fabric of the game. By staying within the rules, wink-wink, Kuchar has done nothing wrong except to give respectability to unseemly behavior and to give "power" to the insufferable Rules martinets who pop up to defend his behavior as being wholly within the rules and who admonish the lay folk for applying their God-given good sense of "right and wrong".

Yes, Reed is the bad guy and got punished and vilified for it. But, it's the folks like Kuchar who are doing more damage to the game that we all love, since he violates the spirit of the game and chips away at its integrity with every one of his odd rules interpretations that feckless rules officials approve.

 

PS, I'm agnostic about McCarron or Langer since the putting rule is impossible to enforce anyway without electronic sensors or some other nonsense...and because, frankly, it's a dumb rule to begin with.

[Vindog]

I think it's fair that he gets the criticism, he makes his own bed but to everyone thinking that any pro should be ale to feel what he is doing withhis club, how do we explain a certain player, at his own tournament, pushing the ball through the sand, then double hitting it, then just playing dumb "I didn't feel it" to avoid penalty?

 

PGA T needs to crack down on these rules gaffs. If we are to expect, and rightly so, that players are to police themselves then we should expect them to know and apply the rules.

[sui generis]

Here's what's expected of the players:Rule 1.2a All players are expected to play in the spirit of the game by acting with integrity – for example, by following the Rules, applying all penalties, and being honest in all aspects of play.https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rules-and-interpretations.html#!ruletype=fr&section=rule&rulenum=1

Certainly most players comply, sadly some don't.

[MtlJeff]

Your post is very thoughtful, but I would ask who is doing more damage to the game? Someone who exploits a rule in plain site, or the rules officials and committees who allow him to do this?

I asked earlier in the thread why some cheating we almost view favorably, or at least differently. Like its what "winners " do to get that extra advantage. I used commiting intentional fouls when the ref isn't looking or etc as an example. We rarely "hate " those players and sometimes even revere them for wanting it more than the next guy. For being "crafty"

The main response was that in those sports there are several refs and replays etc....so it's on the ref to catch it, not the player.

I have a hard time faulting a guy for taking advantage of the rules in plain view of an official. Why not? It happens in every single sport. Golf I'd almost encourage it given all the times we've seen the rules blatantly screw someone

[BeerPerHole]

It brings me no joy to say he was cheating. But....he was cheating.

[LICC]

But Tiger wasn't trying to push a ball, or trying to hit it twice. And a very fast double hit like that may not be perceptible. Reed clearly was committing an intentional act to improve the conditions of his lie and was attempting to hide it by pretending it was part of his practice swing routine.

[golfcart22]

Tom Brady (air), Lance Armstrong and many of the MLB and NFL (doping), the list goes on and on. We all want to think pro athletes have sound morals but in the end, they're looking for that "competitive edge" - no matter how they get it.