Patrick Reed golf.com Story - A Must Read

[SullGolf]

Reed is a great golfer. He isn't a particularly likable person. That's okay.

 

I do think it's interesting to hear his background, and I'd like to hear his side of it. But he has the right to keep that private.

[dmac4g]

It seems strange to me that after the biggest win of Patrick's career, Golf magazine goes with a hit piece involving his parents? It is a strange time that we live in when we relish in other people misery. I am curious what the outcry would have been if Tiger won and Shipnuck would have done an expose of all the infamous girls in his past? This whole thing just strikes me as odd.

[Dave230]

Alan Shipnuck is a very good journalist, although there's no doubt he plays fast and loose with the ultimate truth in order to sell the story. He also writes some brilliant articles and some of the worst things I've read. This isn't one of the bad ones though.

 

In this case, I think the article is somewhat justified given the public interest, we all know about Reed, but the casual population doesn't necessarily. Asking that question in a winning press conference is a ballsy move, and arguably a bit distasteful in the moment. He could have left it for another time.

 

But somebody should ask, because the Tours will never ask a hard question, and a lot of golf coverage is relatively soft.

[rockinar]

I suspect his parents are bible belt religious wackos and Patrick is the king of IDGAF, so they don't gel.

 

Also getting married at 22 is not uncommon. I don't see the big deal. He was an adult and can make his own decisions at that age. Patrick obvious is who he is, but I get the vibe the parents are no saints.

[bladehunter]

Has anybody here really denounced Patrick Reed in this story? I don't think Alan Shipnuck did. (What words did Shipnuck use, if that is what you think?)

 

Almost universally, no one has denounced Reed for a couple of college drinking incidents. I have seen almost nobody -- certainly nobody here -- flatly declare that Reed is a cheater because he was a cheater in college, blah, blah blah.

 

What I see are a whole lot of people thinking that indeed this is a very complicated story. That there are a lot of questions, and some dubious behavior, and none of us can be sure what is what.

 

For my part, I haven't judged Reed or anyone else in his family. His families. I'd like to hear Reed's story, whatever it might be.

 

It’s the same passive agreesive dig he always took at tiger. Anything to sell copy. I’ll never ever respect any member of the media who isn’t just reporting the news. He tries to create it.

[cardoustie]

it's pretty clear to me the parents did not like his future wife and said something like "her or us." Maybe they said she's a gold digger. I'm not reaching here

 

PR repeated this to his fiance and the split was in the making

 

The fact that her Mom is now his mgr and her brother is now the caddy is very odd to say the least

 

His wife was probably his first serious girl and he went all in not knowing any better, maybe to antagonize his parents who knows?

[Always_rough]

Who cares if he doesn't talk to his family, that's a personal thing if anything still counts as personal.

 

All I wanna know is how the hell is he that big, but doesn't get back pain/tired from walking 4 rounds in a row. Most of the bigger guys I play with struggle to walk one round.

[scotty2131]

I suspect his parents are bible belt religious wackos and Patrick is the king of IDGAF, so they don't gel.

 

Also getting married at 22 is not uncommon. I don't see the big deal. He was an adult and can make his own decisions at that age. Patrick obvious is who he is, but I get the vibe the parents are no saints.

 

If it wasn't for that throat-choking Jesus piece he's always wearing, I'd say you might be on to something.

[Nixhex524]

Unfortunately, instead of celebrating his win I have a feeling articles like this will now be the focal point of any interview he does, or at least will be part of the questioning. I don't know what kind of "tour" he will be doing after the win, but it's guaranteed to come up somewhere and I feel at some point, he will address it just to make it go away and not let it take away from the actual point. There are far to many reasons things can be the way they are and shouldn't matter to anyone but him and his family. I find it hard to believe that his parents and sister have ZERO idea why he has chosen to write them off, honestly. Dude gutted out his biggest win ever, talk about that. Our media completely sucks and cares about nothing but their own agenda.

[Sean2]

I find it odd that asking their kid to slow down with regards to getting married is what led to the estrangement. I don't know many parents who wouldn't propose the same thing to their child.

 

I am thinking there is a lot more to this story then we are privy to.

[games]

Asking that question in a winning press conference is a ballsy move...

 

It was a D**K move to set up his POS "story."

[bervin]

I suspect his parents are bible belt religious wackos and Patrick is the king of IDGAF, so they don't gel.

 

Also getting married at 22 is not uncommon. I don't see the big deal. He was an adult and can make his own decisions at that age. Patrick obvious is who he is, but I get the vibe the parents are no saints.

 

If it wasn't for that throat-choking Jesus piece he's always wearing, I'd say you might be on to something.

 

This is the crap that gets threads shut down around here. I highly suggest staying off the topic of religion. Especially since it is unbelievably, recklessly speculative.

[vanillafunk616]

Families are very complicated for normal people, let alone the famous and wealthy. Reminds me of the Kobe Bryant situation where his parents said the same thing about getting married too young and not approving of his wife. They stopped talking to each other after he bought his in laws a more expensive house then he bought his parents. They then sold all his personal belongings to a memorabilia company. There's also an NFL player whose mother demanded one million dollars from him as soon as he was drafted. You really never know with people, and it's really terrible to even publically speculate.

[Sean2]

Geez I posted a link to a story about Reed's situation in another thread and was tarred and feathered for doing so. OP creates an entire thread about it and gets a pass.

 

I am sorry to hear that. Nowadays it seems if you say something that people disagree with, instead of simply disagreeing with you they vilify you and try to make sure your voice is no longer heard. In addition, there are those who will refrain from offering an opinion for fear of any backlash.

 

"Free speech" isn't so free anymore.

[fairways4life]

In fairness, Shipnuck wasn't the only one to write about Reed's family situation. Many publications are running the same story today. If the media only wrote about golf and never gave us a glimpse into the human side of a player, wouldn't that be a little boring? We want to get to know our athletes, and especially our golfers because it's an individual sport. We want to know about Tiger and Earl. We want to know about Phil and Amy. We want to know about Sean O'Hair. We want to learn more about these athletes' lives and learn more about them off the course. Whether it's happy and positive stuff or whether it's cloudier stuff, we want to read about it, listen to it and watch it. It allows us to get to know these guys, form opinions and cast players as good guys or villains, however unfair that might be. Do we expect the media to only report happy news and never the bad or controversial stuff? This isn't North Korea.

 

Shipnuck did not write a column crucifying the guy. He gave us an inside look at a Masters viewing party for the estranged family of the eventual winner. It's a human interest story. It speaks volumes about family dynamics, relationships and personal hardships and provides a human element to a golf score.

 

I don't think Shipnuck is taking cheap shots or anything like that. He's simply doing his job. The job of a journalist isn't always easy. You have to ask the tough questions and it can be uncomfortable.

 

Now, asking the family question in the press conference probably wasn't his best judgement. That simply isn't the time and place for those types of questions. Shipnuck should reach out to the Reed camp in private to see if they might be interested in speaking on the topic (Shipnuck indicated in the story that Reed has previously denied such requests). That's the only thing that makes Shipnuck look bad in this.

 

Lastly, I don't think the story automatically makes someone hate Patrick Reed. If anything, I would say it makes people feel bad for him that he has endured that kind of hardship in his personal life and has overcome it to achieve his dreams. I'm not a big Reed fan, but his story does make me view him as more human and reminds me that these guys are just like the rest of us when it comes to things like divorce, broken relationships, and other personal struggles. He is our newest Masters champion, and as such, we want to know who Patrick Reed is.

[williamsnrb]

Patrick Reed 2018 Masters Champion. Get the f*** over it.

 

I don't think anyone has an issue with that.

[Sean2]

From everything I have read, it seems his family wants a Jerry Springer situation, and Reed just wants them to go away.

 

I didn't get that impression at all. I have read about Reed's misadventures in college, but that's all. This is the first I have heard of the estrangement, and I follow golf closely. If the parents/sister are after attention, or his money, they seem to be doing a poor job of it. Or, have they engaged in a social media blitz for the last five years that I am unaware of?

[Woodrow]

I was aware of the fall out with his parents. Not entirely on his rough childhood. You don't have to be an angel to play good golf, but in saying that we understand how balance has played a part in all the greats careers.

I felt the article was harsh. I seem to recall a lot of this family dust up had to do with his wife.

 

I'm covering a story this morning of 15 young hockey players losing their life in a bus crash 30 miles away from my location. Today family rises above any game.

[4rheel]

Man, I'm not a Reed fan by any means but the lack luster, courtesy clapping after he won was really strange to me. Many didn't even seem to be clapping greenside. The dude beat Rory in the Ryder cup, handily holds him off as well as a push by others in the field to win the Masters. And all we're doing is talking about his family issues or what he did bad in his past?

 

What's the guy gotta do?

[SirFuego]

It seems strange to me that after the biggest win of Patrick's career, Golf magazine goes with a hit piece involving his parents? It is a strange time that we live in when we relish in other people misery. I am curious what the outcry would have been if Tiger won and Shipnuck would have done an expose of all the infamous girls in his past? This whole thing just strikes me as odd.

 

I'll admit that I haven't read the entire thread, so perhaps this sentiment has been already expressed, but...

 

Media outlets get most of their money through advertisements, and very few people subscribe to the print versions of their product. So this forces them to rely on clicks from the internet. How to do you do that? Write a controversial article that is sure to get people riled up and it goes viral. It doesn't need to be 100% accurate, nor does it need to tell all sides of the story. It just needs to be the "first" major media outlet to report it -- or at least the first to report an "old" story with some fresh new information at an opportune time. It gets people talking about it. It gets people clicking into the site. It gets their advertisements in front of the user (and they know how ad blockers work, so they find ways around them). As they say, "there is no such thing as bad press". With the 24 hour news cycle and immediate feedback from social media (not just Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, but also forums like this), topics can die as quickly as they spread, so you gotta take advantage of every opportunity you get.

 

This was a ripe opportunity regardless of ethics, and I'd say it did it's job. As of now, this thread is 9 pages long and there are lengthy threads about it in other places. That doesn't make it right or ethical, but that's the way things are and will be in the foreseeable future.

[Sean2]

We should all lay out all of our dirty laundry on the table and that way we can fairly judge someone else through a third hand story and past mistakes.

 

You just described social media. And, it's as if those doing the judging are perfect. They can heap sh!t on another person, revel in some else's misfortune, all while hiding behind their keyboards. Perhaps they should spend a bit more time looking in the mirror and less time looking at their computer screens?

[fairways4life]

Man, I'm not a Reed fan by any means but the lack luster, courtesy clapping after he won was really strange to me. Many didn't even seem to be clapping greenside. The dude beat Rory in the Ryder cup, handily holds him off as well as a push by others in the field to win the Masters. And all we're doing is talking about his family issues or what he did bad in his past?

 

What's the guy gotta do?

 

I think the fact that 2 very popular players (Fowler, Spieth) were chasing Reed along with one generally popular player (Rory). A lot of people wanted to see Fowler break through after all his close calls. They wanted to see Rory complete the grand slam. They wanted Spieth to complete a historic Sunday comeback. Reed found himself competing against some popular and highly likeable guys and I think there was just a collective letdown when the more popular guys came up short.

[Wilbur56]

I was really rooting for Reed as we all make mistakes. I won a tourney in college and greased my driver every round. Lost a little distance but the course was tight and I hit way more fairways than normal. Just put a little dab on the corner or your towel and act like your are cleaning you club. It is very easy.

 

Lol very first post on this site and it's about cheating his way to a win. What an entrance!

 

Well I was researching articles about Reeds past and found this site.

[fairways4life]

I was really rooting for Reed as we all make mistakes. I won a tourney in college and greased my driver every round. Lost a little distance but the course was tight and I hit way more fairways than normal. Just put a little dab on the corner or your towel and act like your are cleaning you club. It is very easy.

 

Lol very first post on this site and it's about cheating his way to a win. What an entrance!

 

Well I was researching articles about Reeds past and found this site.

 

Haha I was just messing with ya. Welcome :golfer:

[Mr. Grumpy]

Life is complicated for everybody, from blue collar to white collar. It does not take much to get the snowball rolling down the hill.. Drunk college regrets? Throw a dart? Cheating? Throw a dart..

 

Families are a microcosm of every horrible and negative thing you've ever heard. Kids grow to make the same decisions Reed has, nothing new. We have 0 info on any thing that would have led his decision to estrange from his family. Just because he has a higher celebrity status now does not give anyone the right to dig it up. Let Reed tell the story when he is ready.

[Sean2]

After thinking about it, I am not 100% sold on Shipnuck's question being a "cheap shot", as some have opined.

 

How many times have you seen a player win his first tournament, especially a major, and the camera shows mom and dad in the audience, and then running out to hug their son after his victory? Or, seeing the parent(s) interviewed? Parents are part of the narrative. The golfer didn't get to where he got in a vacuum. We have all read, heard, seen stories of TW's father, or Spieth's family, or Justin Thomas's father, etc. So, given that, was what Shipnuck asked completely out of line?

[Jarlaxle]

Here's another one, this one by Ian O'Connor at ESPN and no, this is not a re-hashing of the article/interview by Shipnuck, it is a completely separate one.

 

From 3 miles away, Patrick Reed's family wept as they watched him win the Masters

 

 

http://www.espn.com/...ept-watched-win

 

Part of my feels for the dad but who does this? Who allows (maybe even directly invites?) the media to cover an issue like this? Everything the Dad says about how everyone picking Rory likely fired PR up sounds spot on... and yet I would think that same mindset is going to push PR further away from his parents for using his winning the Masters to publicly throw a pitty party for themselves. I guess the other tournaments he won weren't a big enough stage to attract notice, had to wait until he won a major to pull out the big guns...

 

I freely admit, I knew zero of this or any other part of PR's backstory prior to today but after reading this thread and the various articles now floating out there, my BS meter is pointing pretty firmly in the direction of the parents at this point. PR's greatest weakness seem like it might be that he is too competitive for his own good. I could absolutely see that leading to him playing loose with the truth when he was first in college. But other than that, I see a guy who is intensely driven and who doesn't put up with BS for any reason. Kind of funny that Bubba Watson (another supposedly "unliked" person) was one of the player's to come most strongly to his defense.

[bladehunter]

I find it odd that asking their kid to slow down with regards to getting married is what led to the estrangement. I don't know many parents who wouldn't propose the same thing to their child.

 

I am thinking there is a lot more to this story then we are privy to.

 

Alot of times it has to do with the presentation Sean.

 

Reed doesn’t strike me as one who takes “ my way or the highway “ very welll. I’m betting they threw the old us or her ultimatum at him and he chose her. And boy doesn’t it look like a good choice now ?!

 

That’s what I meant earlier about them reaching out. Reaching out for an apology. When it’s them who should be offering one on bended knee.

 

 

You can voice a concern in a meek cautioNary fashion while finishing up with a “ we will support your decision either way”. No sane person gets really mad at that. But walk in and say “ that skinny b**** isn’t good enough for you she’s just after your money ....and over my dead body will you marry her. If you do don’t come back “! That’s the type comments that get what you have here.

 

Same principle just different techniques.

[Mr. Grumpy]

After thinking about it, I am not 100% sold on Shipnuck's question being a "cheap shot", as some have opined.

 

How many times have you seen a player win his first tournament, especially a major, and the camera shows mom and dad in the audience, and then running out to hug their son after his victory? Or, seeing the parent(s) interviewed? Parents are part of the narrative. The golfer didn't get to where he got in a vacuum. We have all read, heard, seen stories of TW's father, or Spieth's family, or Justin Thomas's father, etc. So, given that, was what Shipnuck asked completely out of line?

 

I didn't see it out of line in this context. It was a crap question,, but it did give Reed the power over answering or not answering. Quite different when setting out on a investigative jaunt to dig up something someone is not ready to talk about. Looking for a there there just because you want to sell a story is not reason enough.

[SandmanGT1]

Oh this is fun, here let me try to dissect the enigma that is P REED

• Does Reed come off as a douchebag? Absolutely.
  
• Does it help he has one of the most punchable faces on tour? Not a bit.
  
• Did he seriously rock a choker as a dude on national television? Like multiple times, and I cringed for him even 3000 miles away.
  
• Does his wife seem like a psycho b****? Yeah for the most part. She's got the look down and those crazy eyes too. WTF was she wearing on Sunday anyway? Oh well, she's rich as a mofo. But you can bet your a** she's nuts.
  
• Are his parents probably just as crappy as he is? Most definitely.
  
• Did he cut contact off because they recommended he "take it slowly" with psycho b****? Of course not, that's retarded - he cut off contact with them because they obviously suck a** at being even remotely decent people. They done f***** up big time. Dumbass hillbillies.
  
• Does Reed need to play practice rounds with other PGA pros to seem likeable? Nope, he keeps to himself and probably thinks most pro golfers are pretentious little bitches that never matured past 14 years old...even though he's surely just the same.
  
• Does Reed need to be buddies with anyone on tour at all? No, he absolutely doesn't. It's a job to him, and the other players are his competitors, nothing more, nothing less. Plus their jokes are probably the worst I could imagine. Think Dustin Johnson impersonating Beavis & Butthead for 4 hours. Mostly butthead.
  
• Did Reed cheat that one time with the one ball in the rough all those years ago? Who gives a s***. He was the stud on all of those teams and carried them to championships. He's got game, doesn't need to cheat all that much. If he cheated to win the masters? Crucify him. If he cheated at a qualifying round in backwoods hickville university? Who caaarrrrres.
  
• Should we care at all about any of this stuff? Well hell yeah we should - I mean I'm absolutely positive that Ricky and Bubba and Rory and Tiger and Ian and Phil and Marc and Sergio and Henrik and all those other dudes are like the most awesome wholesome people in the history of the universe. Rich kids forced to play golf from the age of 3 tend to always turn out as such high functioning social philanthropists. Ha I'm kidding, they're all pariahs and you know it. And they know it, so they probably just roll that s*** downhill to poor old P REED who takes it on the chin and doesn't give a fuuuuuuuck.
  
• Did Reed just put on a clinic at the Masters? You bet your a** he did. You. Bet. Your. a**. He. Did. I wasn't cheering for him, he's a ****** I don't think there's any real debate about that, but he's got serious game and well....good on him for working like a maniac and kickin some serious a**.