Patrick Reed of San Antonio, Texas is once again involved in controversy. Despite winning the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego rather comfortably (by five strokes over five other players) on Sunday, it is a third-round decision made by Reed which has been the talk of the golfing world.
During Saturday’s third round, Reed hit a shot out of the bunker on the 10th hole. According to the Canadian Press, he then went to pick up the ball to see if it was embedded. However, Reed generated controversy because he did not wait to check with a rule official before picking up the golf ball. Replays showed that the golf ball had clearly bounced before landing, and Reed should have had to play the ball from its original spot. Reed, or the golfers he was playing with (Will Gordon or Robby Shelton), had not seen the ball bounce before laying to rest.
It should be noted that Rory McIlroy was involved in a similar situation on the 18th hole. However, unlike Reed, McIlroy asked a rules official for a ruling of getting proper relief.
This is not the first time Reed has been marred in controversy. At the 2019 Presidents Cup, Reed’s caddie shoved a spectator, and at the 2018 Hero World Challenge, Reed was given a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie when the golf ball was in the sand.
Martine Gaillard of Rogers Sportsnet stated on Sunday that the PGA Tour feared that Reed would have won the tournament by a single stroke. He won by five, and can now take a sigh of relief themselves. The five players in second were Americans Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer, and Xander Schauffele, along with Norway’s Viktor Hovland, and Sweden’s Henrik Norlander.
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