Are you sitting comfortably? Reed’s week somehow got worse
The Patrick Reed controversy continued on Saturday at the Presidents Cup but this time it was his caddie, Kessler Karain, who was at the centre of the storm.
On Friday Reed lost his rag with the fans with a comedy sand-in-the-shovel gag but this time it was his looper who saw red.
According to reports, Karain lost his cool after Reed and Webb Simpson lost their third match of the week.
Karain, who is also Reed’s brother-in-law, provided the media with a statement himself, explaining the situation in which he is said to have confronted a fan who he believed had overstepped the mark with comments directed at his player.
He said: “As a caddie one of your jobs is to protect your player. And unlike several other sports, in golf fans can get pretty close to athletes.
Patrick Reed’s caddie and brother-in-law, Kessler Karain, has released a statement to @foreplaypod regarding an altercation with a Presidents Cup fan. pic.twitter.com/BpCtPmNjRN
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 14, 2019
“We’ve been known for having fun with some good banter, but after hearing several fans in Australia for three days, some had taken it too far, I had enough. And this gentleman was one of them.
“I got off the cart and shoved him, said a couple things, probably a few expletives. Security came and I got beck in the cart and left. I don’t think there’s one caddie I know that could blame me.”
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The PGA Tour are looking into the situation and confirmed in a statement following the conclusion of Saturday’s play that Reed’s caddie would not be returning for the Sunday singles. It is not yet confirmed who will be working on Reed’s bag.
Reed did not interview after his match but did address the decision to change his caddie for Sunday. He said: “I respect the tour’s decision. We are all focused on winning the Presidents Cup.”
His rules fiasco at last week’s Hero Wold Challenge is the reasoning behind the jeers that Reed has been receiving from the galleries this week, and his poor performances have only brought on further ridicule.
Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
