Match play is supposed to be Patrick Reed’s meat-and-potatoes.
Match play is supposed to be his giant cup of tea.
Yeah, the guy who beat Rory McIlroy on the final day of the Ryder Cup last year is supposed to be a match play monster.
So how come after the first two days of the WGC Match Play down there in Austin, the Boisterous Baron of the Ryder Cup hasn’t won a match?
Could it be that Reed simply isn’t as good as he keeps telling everyone he is?
This is the same Patrick Reed who has gone on record to say he’s a top five player. The only problem is that his butt hasn’t backed up that check his mouth wrote a while back.
On Wednesday, Reed couldn’t beat Jason Dufner, who was seeded 59th in the field. The match was halved, and you may as well chalk that up as a loss for Reed — same difference.
Kevin Kisner got the best of Reed on Thursday, taking him down, 1-down to be exact. Which means Reed will not be advancing to the real match play in the round of 16.
Seriously? The Mayor of Match Play Mahem is 0-1-1?
Reed went up against Brooks Koepka in the Friday matches. Reed had nothing to play for but pride, Koepka, at 2-0, was looking for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Moral of the story? Perhaps match play outside the Ryder Cup is not Reed’s cup of tea.
What has transpired through two days is the dominance of Dustin Johnson. In his first two matches, Johnson never trailed and basically made it look way too easy, even on Thursday when 30-mile-per-hour winds were wreaking havoc with most of the field.
There have also been withdrawals along the way.
Jason Day shocked early with the news of his mother’s battle with lung cancer. Which begs the question why Day didn’t withdraw before the event to be at home with her? Did he show up just to collect the $50,000 money guaranteed to the guys who don’t win a match? Yes, everyone sympathizes and feels empathy for Day and his family but when he revealed that this has been bothering him all season and that the surgery was set for Friday, it is puzzling that he showed up. No one would blame him, even though he’s the defending champ, there’s no reason to be there, it’s just golf, not life.
Gary Woodland bowed out on Thursday, citing “family reasons” per his manager, the Great Stiney, aka Mark Stineberg, also the handler of one Tiger Woods.
Francesco Molinari injured his wrist, he’s out and that’s very understandable.
These WDs foul up the brackets and give free wins to some players while others were out there grinding it out in those gosh-awful windy conditions.
Hopefully enough big names will make it to the weekend to make this stuff worth watching.
But there are no guarantees, really.
There were 14 unbeaten after the first two days, including senior citizen Phil Mickelson.
But there’s no telling who can end up in the final.
How about K.T. Kim vs. Pat Perez?
Such are the possible perils of match play.
One thing for sure, Patrick Reed will be somewhere besides Austin this weekend.
6 Comments
Cmonsters11
Tom Edrington proved his ignorance with this article. Why not just come out and say you hate Patrick Reed. You obviously don’t know him or have an eye for golf talent. Why don’t you
Just go back to drinking your vodka and stop writing because you’re an idiot.
Tom Edrington
Drinking vodka? Patrick Reed looked like he was playing with a hangover, wasn’t able to win a single match over three days. It was Reed himself who said he’s a Top 5 player but certainly doesn’t play like it. Besides, I’d prefer a cold beer with “Beef” Johnston.
Scudder Graybeal
Pretty rough comments. Obviously, the writer has something against Reed.
Tom Edrington
Nothing against Reed, don’t even know him, haven’t met him but have observed how he touts himself as a “Top 5” player, his words, not mind. His mouth writes checks that his play cannot cash. Supposed to be a match play monster but didn’t win a single match in this event. That in and of itself speaks volumes. Again, nothing against him except for the fact that he exalts himself unlike a guy like Dustin Johnson who quietly keeps proving he’s the best in the business.
Scudder Graybeal
It was a couple of years (Doral) when he said he thought he was a top 5 player. Where is he ranked now? Not too far from that. I’m no fan of Reeds, but the criticism of him by this writer seems to me to be a little tough. Possibly the writer has had a bad day or he was snubbed somewhere when asking for an autograph or interview.
Tom Edrington
First, would never ask Reed for an interview or an autograph, why would I? Have autographed pictures of myself with Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Bowden, Arnold Palmer and a few more. Never had a bad day as a writer. We will let Mr. Reed’s match play record this week in Austin speak for itself and you can ask the question, who had a bad day, er week?