The globetrotter has returned to his roots, harking for another green jacket. Patrick Reed’s passport is unquestionably one of the most used by any tour golfer, his time in LIV Golf and on the DP World Tour conspiring to the old theory of following the sun more applicable that for most.
Indeed, Reed has competed in no fewer than 28 different countries worldwide since 2022 alone, busting – almost on his own – any notion that American golfers don’t like to travel. He’s one of those outliers, along with Brooks Koepka perhaps, on that front.
Yet, for Reed, a business graduate of Augusta State University, and for all of the time zone criss-crossing, the return down Magnolia Lane each year – guaranteed as the 2018 Masters champion – is what truly hits the adrenaline buzz: “The one jacket is getting a little lonely, I might need one more.”
Reed’s frantic start to the season, on returning to the DP World Tour from LIV before transitioning as planned back to the PGA Tour late this year when he has completed his return to tour protocol, saw him play in Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, and twice in South Africa in a spell when he won twice and finished runner-up another time in a hot run around the Middle East.
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However, Reed’s arrival here comes after a four-week break since last teeing up in South Africa, and with a fresh approach to this latest – his 13th – appearance on the hallowed turf where, since his win in 2018, he has also collected a further four top-10s, including a third-place finish behind Rory McIlroy last year.
“I think the biggest thing is it’s one of those places where you have to stay patient. It’s one of those golf courses where I always try to press, and this golf course is exactly what golf is. You have to stay in the present. You have to stay patient and believe in yourself.
“I feel like anytime I get here, I get out of being that robot [mode] and can just be creative, hit golf shots, and play golf and kind of what you see. Because of that, it’s one of those places that I love to come every year.
“I feel like it’s the best test of golf we play all year round. For a guy that’s played just about everywhere in the world, just about, it’s one of those places that I say hands down it’s the best test of golf and best golf course I’ve ever played.”
Reed’s decision to turn down a new contract with 4Aces on LIV came after his win in the Dubai Desert Classic (he is an honorary life member of the DP World Tour) and was primarily based on mapping out a return to more quality time with his family and ultimately to play again on the PGA Tour.
“I have no idea when the last time was I took three or four weeks off before Augusta. It’s been an unbelievable break. I’ve been out there obviously grinding, working on the game, but having the opportunity to take little man over to some golf lessons and then go to St Louis with my daughter for volleyball tournaments.
“It’s awesome to just be a dad. Go out and do my work early in the morning and come back and pick my kids up from school and have a great time. That’s something that I definitely missed, I felt like, through not just last year, but also early in my career because I was always go, go, go, and focusing on golf 24/7.”
In the here and now, Reed – who had dropped to 164th in the world rankings as recently as 2024 but who has moved back to a current position of 23rd in the latest official world golf rankings – has brought a keen form-line back on that drive down Magnolia Lane for this latest tilt at the title.
As he observed, “I feel like the field this week is really strong like always. I feel like it used to be five or six, maybe seven guys. No, I definitely feel like this year you have 10 to 12 guys who have a really legitimate opportunity to win the green jacket.”
Naturally, and rightly given his from this year, the rejuvenated Reed is among that number and as eager as anyone to complement his wardrobe.
