Patrick Reed - Is he arrogant?

[ChrisP]

Sorry, but no. You used the word "legitimate."

So either, in your mind, there are only about nine "legitimate" PGA Tour events, or your definition is out of whack.

You can dislike the guy… but try not to look silly by degrading long-time PGA Tour events in the process, or someone's ability and records.

I grade Tour events based on the strength of the field and the importance of it. That's my opinion. You don't have to share it. That's fine. Like I said, it's no disrespect to the Humana and the Wyndham, but I don't put those in the same category as a WGC or a major or even a tourney like the Memorial where there are more world class players in it.

[iacas]

Like I said, it's no disrespect to the Humana and the Wyndham, but I don't put those in the same category as a WGC or a major or even a tourney like the Memorial where there are more world class players in it.

I'm going to make a point with this next sentence, and don't agree with what I'll write - again, just making a point here:

No disrespect to you, you're a bleeping moron who is ugly and smells funny.

Know what I mean? Point is: you can't just say "no disrespect" right before or after completely disrespecting something.

Of course the Bob Hope is not a WGC, but you said it wasn't a "legitimate" PGA Tour event, so again, in your mind, there must only be about nine. And he had just won one of those nine .

[mvmac]

I grade Tour events based on the strength of the field and the importance of it. That's my opinion. You don't have to share it. That's fine. Like I said, it's no disrespect to the Humana and the Wyndham, but I don't put those in the same category as a WGC or a major or even a tourney like the Memorial where there are more world class players in it.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing the WGC is a bigger win/event than the Humana/Wyndham. The disagreement is that those are still legitimate tournaments, not silly season events.

[Chris223]

I don't think anyone is disagreeing the WGC is a bigger win/event than the Humana/Wyndham. The disagreement is that those are still legitimate tournaments, not silly season events.

which is another argument all together, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who think some of the bigger names ought to play those events more often.  Instead though, they play the majors, the players, and WGC events and maybe a couple overseas... I guess it's one of the perks of being a top 20 golfer, you make more than enough money to pick and choose when you want to play.  But it's sad that those tournaments can't draw bigger fields.  I remember always going to the BC Open as a kid, and before it became an alternate event to the british open we'd get names like Mickelson and Harrington and the like playing.  Afterwards, we got Jonathan Byrd and Jason Bohn.

Also why I like Zach Johnson, he's a pretty big name player who DOES play in a lot of those events like the Wyndham and John Deere Classic while guys like Rory and Phil take the week off or play in Europe.

But either way, winning on the PGA Tour regardless is not an easy accomplishment, especially to win 3 times in 11 months.  There's a lot of good players on tour who don't do that.  Matt Kuchar for example, he's always there on sunday it seems, but when did he last win?

[ChrisP]

I'm going to make a point with this next sentence, and don't agree with what I'll write - again, just making a point here:

No disrespect to you, you're a bleeping moron who is ugly and smells funny.

Know what I mean? Point is: you can't just say "no disrespect" right before or after completely disrespecting something.

Of course the Bob Hope is not a WGC, but you said it wasn't a "legitimate" PGA Tour event, so again, in your mind, there must only be about nine. And he had just won one of those nine.

Well, I really don't disprespect them because they have no control over who comes to their tournaments. I live in Palm Harbor and work at the Valspar every year and am upset at the timing of this tournament because it's sandwiched in the middle of Doral and Bay Hill which means we don't get the big names come to our event like the others do. "Legitimate" was a bit of an exaggerated word I used, but my point is it's not a tournament where you get the top ranked players in the world. Unfortunately for Humana and Wyndham, it's probably on the lower end of all the tournaments as far as the field they get. It is what it is. And there are a lot more than 9.....a lot more.

[ay33660]

To those who give Reed a pass because he is only 23 ..... well Jordan Spieth is only 20.

He has just place 2nd in his first time at the Masters. I am sure he is just as confident as Reed is but I have not heard Spieth ramble on about being a top 5 player etc etc.

All top athletes have confidence in themselves or they would get to the top but they keep it to themselves.

[Golfingdad]

To those who give Reed a pass because he is only 23 ..... well Jordan Spieth is only 20. He has just place 2nd in his first time at the Masters. I am sure he is just as confident as Reed is but I have not heard Spieth ramble on about being a top 5 player etc etc. All top athletes have confidence in themselves or they would get to the top but they keep it to themselves.

Spieth is a prick. He said after the round today that he believes he has the game to win a major. Oh really dude? Then how come you didn't? Win something then pop off, until then keep your mouth shut you douchebag!! (Juuuuuuust in case, I should probably state that I'm being facetious ;))

[AmazingWhacker]

Personally, I find the arrogance refreshing.  I was pulling for him last week.  I would have loved to seen the spectacle that would've followed him winning the masters.  Kiss the ring, baby!  Ah well . .maybe next year.

[boogielicious]

None of us can know for sure if Reed is actually arrogant.  We are debating more that he came off as arrogant in that interview.  I hope he now understands how the media and social media can escalate everything you say as a public figure.  A little coaching would help him out immensely.  I think Jordan Spieth showed that with his Bull Durham type response to questions after the Masters.  Reed looks to be a very good player who will be around for a while.

[Golfingdad]

I also have more to say about the timing aspect but am on my phone right now.

Just to elaborate on this one real quick:

I was just thinking about what people's views of him would be now, had we found out earlier that he was this confident in his game.  People were very quick to discount the 3 wins in 11 months, including a WGC, and I think that is mostly because we found out about his "arrogance" after** all of those.

I'm trying to imagine what people would have said about him right after the WGC win if they heard a snippet of him sounding arrogant prior to his first win.  They would have been appalled when they heard it, and said stuff like "if you're gonna talk the talk, then walk the walk."  Then he goes out and plays better than everybody on the tour (except for Jimmy Walker) for the next year and I'm thinking that a lot of those people view him differently after the WGC because he did "walk the walk."

(** If you watched the WGC, you found out during the last round.)

---

Likewise, a lot of the "walk the walk" people said things about winning a major.  I'd be willing to wager that had he never opened his mouth after/during the WGC then won yesterday in his first major, THEN answered the question with the "Top 5" comment, that most of the same people would still find an excuse to call him arrogant.

[newtogolf]

Just to elaborate on this one real quick:

I was just thinking about what people's views of him would be now, had we found out earlier that he was this confident in his game.  People were very quick to discount the 3 wins in 11 months, including a WGC, and I think that is mostly because we found out about his "arrogance" after** all of those.

I'm trying to imagine what people would have said about him right after the WGC win if they heard a snippet of him sounding arrogant prior to his first win.  They would have been appalled when they heard it, and said stuff like "if you're gonna talk the talk, then walk the walk."  Then he goes out and plays better than everybody on the tour (except for Jimmy Walker) for the next year and I'm thinking that a lot of those people view him differently after the WGC because he did "walk the walk."

(** If you watched the WGC, you found out during the last round.)

Likewise, a lot of the "walk the walk" people said things about winning a major.  I'd be willing to wager that had he never opened his mouth after/during the WGC then won yesterday in his first major, THEN answered the question with the "Top 5" comment, that most of the same people would still find an excuse to call him arrogant.

Reed is a very good player, three wins on the PGA Tour is proof of that.  I for one don't want to diminish what he's done, as there are some guys that go their entire career not winning three events.  All that said, three wins doesn't make you a Top 5 player in the world.

[ChrisP]

Just to elaborate on this one real quick:

I was just thinking about what people's views of him would be now, had we found out earlier that he was this confident in his game.  People were very quick to discount the 3 wins in 11 months, including a WGC, and I think that is mostly because we found out about his "arrogance" after** all of those.

I'm trying to imagine what people would have said about him right after the WGC win if they heard a snippet of him sounding arrogant prior to his first win.  They would have been appalled when they heard it, and said stuff like "if you're gonna talk the talk, then walk the walk."  Then he goes out and plays better than everybody on the tour (except for Jimmy Walker) for the next year and I'm thinking that a lot of those people view him differently after the WGC because he did "walk the walk."

(** If you watched the WGC, you found out during the last round.)

Likewise, a lot of the "walk the walk" people said things about winning a major.  I'd be willing to wager that had he never opened his mouth after/during the WGC then won yesterday in his first major, THEN answered the question with the "Top 5" comment, that most of the same people would still find an excuse to call him arrogant.

I have no problem with his "top 5" comment. But if you're going to make a comment like that, just make sure you play like a top-5 player right after you say it or else you're going to take some heat for it, not just from fans, but from players as well. He deserves to take some heat for his comment after the way he played at Augusta. If his fans don't like it, then tough. That's part of the game. If David Price makes a statement that he's the best pitcher in baseball and then gives up 12 runs the next 3 games, do you think the media and fans are going to be nice to him? Heck no.

[pumaAttack]

Have there been any interviews with Reed regarding his Masters performance?

[Golfingdad]

Reed is a very good player, three wins on the PGA Tour is proof of that.  I for one don't want to diminish what he's done, as there are some guys that go their entire career not winning three events.  All that said, three wins doesn't make you a Top 5 player in the world.

Correct.  But so many people are taking his comment as a referendum on the actual OWGR or something.  As if he was saying "The rankings are incorrect seeing as how they don't show me listed in the top 5 when, CLEARLY, I belong there."  I took it more as him stating how he felt he was playing at that moment.  I.e., I could beat anybody right now because I'm playing like one of the 5 best players in the world.  When you go back over the previous 11 months, compare his record to the rest of the world, its not hard to see that he would have some confidence there.

Should he have said it like that?  Possibly not.  On the other hand, one could argue that this publicity falls into the "any publicity is good publicity" category, because he's been getting an awful lot more press than, say, Jimmy Walker or Russell Henley over the past several weeks.

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One other small point that is kind of related, but its more of a general comment.  People take things that players say differently, such that there is no consensus on what is and what is not "acceptable."

To me, if a player has a really good round or tournament, and then afterwards says "humble" things, I find that to sound a little more arrogant than if he was to just say "I played amazing this week."  If you downplay how well you played when you just smoked everybody then it sounds like you think you could do a heck of a lot better.  If you sound cocky or confident, it sounds a little more like "this is the best I can play," which I take as being less arrogant.

[Rick Martin]

If you're going to talk the talk, you're going to need to walk the walk.....and Reed needs to win majors to be considered a top 5. Not making the cut at the Masters didn't help him at all, did it?

GC reported today that Reed played a practice round w/ Ryder Cup CPT Tom Watson at RBC. Hopefully some of Watson's class will rub off on Reed. He needs to improve his public perception - it kind of needs an overhaul.

[Phil McGleno]

Ricky Bobby-Luke DOnald was #1 and has never won a major.[quote name="Rick Martin" url="/t/73117/patrick-reed-is-he-arrogant/252#post_977987"]If you're going to talk the talk, you're going to need to walk the walk.....and Reed needs to win majors to be considered a top 5. Not making the cut at the Masters didn't help him at all, did it? GC reported today that Reed played a practice round w/ Ryder Cup CPT Tom Watson at RBC. Hopefully some of Watson's class will rub off on Reed. He needs to improve his public perception - it kind of needs an overhaul. [/quote] Watson?-Classy?-Adultery is classy now? Stealing another man's wife and divorcing your own to marry her? And you hate Tigger?

[Rick Martin]

Watson?-Classy?-Adultery is classy now? Stealing another man's wife and divorcing your own to marry her? And you hate Tigger?

First time I've ever heard anyone complain about Tom Watson not having class.   BTW, not sure about the hating Tiger comment, either.

Have you stopped taking your meds?

[Phil McGleno]

You turn a blind eye to Tommy's adultery but not Tigers?-Bit of a racist perhaps. Or a moron.-Only two explanations I can think of. MEds?-Vitamin C count?[quote name="Rick Martin" url="/t/73117/patrick-reed-is-he-arrogant/252#post_978000"] First time I've ever heard anyone complain about Tom Watson not having class.   BTW, not sure about the hating Tiger comment, either. Have you stopped taking your meds? [/quote]