Like so many of you I spent a large part of my weekend in the gutter. Rooting for failure of one rather than success of another. As you reflect on it you may be saved by a knight in shining Under Armour, but if you are anything like me, you were rooting against Patrick Reed long before Jordan Spieth made his run.
I went to bed Sunday thinking, “Yea I was rooting for a good Dallas kid, not against Fat Pat.” But the truth is before Jordan made his run I found myself rooting for Rory. When it became clear that he did not have it, I was saved by Spieth. After he hit the limb of the 18th tee, I was a huge fan of Rickie Fowler. I just did not want Reed to prevail.
The truth is a villain in golf is not unique. I don’t really remember it, but I’ve heard stories about how nobody in Arnie’s Army could tolerate this brash young blond out of Ohio named Jack Nicklaus. Yet by the end of his career, Fat Jack was long gone and the Golden Bear was as beloved as Mr. Palmer himself.
In more recent years we have tried to create golf rivalries. When Sergio Garcia first burst onto the scene we loved that he may be the one to challenge Tiger week in and week out. That rivalry never materialized, but during Tiger’s hey-day he had some pretty decent battles with Phil Mickelson. If I can believe the fake Tiger on 1310 The Ticket, Woods still hates “Phil the Dill.”
If the stories about cheating his teammates at the University of Georgia, theft and turning in dishonest scorecards are true, then Reed really is a jerk. But most of the things that allegedly happened were 5-10 years ago. It is interesting that CBS brought up on the telecast that his favorite song is Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. He may be motivated by that song because the lyrics really say, “I’m radioactive.” But being different from all the other golfers is no reason to hate him.
For my entire career I have tried to reserve judgement about a guy until after I’ve met him. I remember when Charles Haley came to the Cowboys with a horrific reputation. Many were ready to vilify him based on what they had heard, but I found him to be easy as long as you knew and played by his rules. The same was true of Will Clark, a noted media foil who could be harsh and unforgiving. Somehow I navigated those choppy waters too and had a good relationship with him.
The pro golf tour is headed to the Metroplex for it’s annual stops. I am going to attempt to do some recon and find out who this Patrick Reed really is. I will attempt to form my own opinion about Fat Pat and then share it with you. I suspect that no matter what I find, you will continue to support that knight in the shining Under Armour.
