‘He’s an absolute gem of a guy’: Why Patrick Reed is just misunderstood
In golf’s newest budding friendship, the PGA Tour bad boy has found the unlikeliest of allies in Robert MacIntyre
It’s the golf-based sitcom we’re all waiting to be written. Patrick Reed is the brash, abrasive, polarising protagonist and Robert MacIntyre is his mild mannered, likeable flatmate who helps him through his various scrapes.
As Reed hops from one controversy to another, you will spend eight seasons trying to work out why MacIntyre continues to stick by him throughout. A golfing version of Peep Show, if you will.
But the left-handed Scot, who has struck up a friendship with Reed in recent months, most recently while playing together for the first two days of the PGA Championship, leapt to the Ryder Cup bad boy’s defence when we asked him if he deserves his reputation.
“Not at all,” McIntyre told NCG in a recent interview. “It’s funny you should say that, I wouldn’t say there are more than two Americans that are more approachable than Patrick Reed is for me.
“I have played him a fair few times now, and I think he is an absolute gem of a guy.
“I have actually spoken about it with [my caddie] Gregg and other players, because the two of us get on. There are obviously some things that have happened, but as a person he is top drawer.”
MacIntyre believes it’s simply a matter of getting to know the person rather than judging them for their on-course antics.
“I find with golf, and the top professionals, you almost have to earn respect before they give you it,” he added. “They are a bit shut off to you before you start competing with them.
“Thankfully I have done that a few times. When I have played with the top guys I have played well and they have opened up to me.
“I had a great chat with Patrick at the PGA on the way round, about his clubs and stuff. He is quite open to chat, and a lot of other guys aren’t really that open. They kind of shut you off.
“Patrick likes to act the way I do on a golf course, which is to communicate, have a chat and have some fun.”
So there you have it. Want to like Patrick Reed? You need to earn his respect first.
Come on, Channel 4, get it commissioned.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
