Patrick Reed says he has never retired from an event due to injury. His threshold, he says, was high.
How high?
“I mean, I’d rather go out and shoot a million,” he said, “than actually get it back.”
Things, however, took a painful turn the winner of the 2018 Masters during the second round of last month’s BMW PGA Championship, considered the DP World Tour’s showcase event. A day earlier at the Wentworth Club in England, he was happy after a four-under 68, but it was nine for nine holes – and it was over.
“I’ve never seen it,” Reed said Wednesday ahead of this week’s Spanish Open, his first event since the BMW WD.
Speaking to the DP World Tour, Reed said his neck and shoulder hurt to start the round, then hurt his left hand. On the 3rd hole, he hit it out of a cartand hit a tree root on a putt on the 9th hole. On the par-3 10th tee, Reed hit his tee shot to the left of the green and then came out.
“My hand swelled up,” Reed said. “I still couldn’t hit a normal flop shot and I couldn’t hit a normal iron shot on the next hole.
“And at that point, because I wasn’t able to really make a normal golf swing, I thought the best thing was to go in.”
Reed said he had feared he had broken his hand, but tests back near his home in Texas revealed “a shoulder problem”. While he has missed two tournaments on the DP World Tour, he remains the season points leader on that circuit, where he has played since leaving LIV Golf in January. The top 10 in the points race receive 2027 PGA Tour cards.
“It might be uncomfortable,” Reed said, “but at the same time, I’m able to kind of run and do what I’m supposed to do, and that’s swing the golf club. So no excuses. Go out there and keep grinding and hopefully finish the year strong.”
The DP World Tour reporter also asked Reed if it was difficult “to manage the emotions of the week” at the BMW PGA.
“It was tough, especially in that place,” he said. “I mean, at Wentworth, it’s such an amazing event. The turnout is great. And I played really good golf in that event. And so, and really, I was in shape, I was playing really well, hitting the ball great, and for that unfortunate Friday that happens, it’s just one of those things that you obviously want that, obviously, you don’t want to happen, but just the other obstacles. that you have to, the ups and downs that you have to deal with throughout the year to hopefully close the year.
“So I feel like we made the right decision, and I took last week to give myself an extra week, doctor’s orders. And so for that, I feel like I’m healthy enough to come back here and play and compete. And the game is still pretty solid.”