If looks could kill: Reed on the end of fan abuse in Hawaii
It took until the first event back on US soil for the Patrick Reed heckles to start. Now it’s time for the PGA Tour to step up
This is it, this is Patrick Reed’s career now.
As he hit a birdie putt during a play-off with eventual champion Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele at the Tournament of Champions, the unthinkable happened.
A fan – and I’m using that term in the loosest sense – screamed “CHEATER!” at Reed as his ball slipped past the hole.
🗣 – "CHEATER!"
Patrick Reed was heckled by a very angry spectator who screamed at the American during the play-off at the Sentry Tournament of Champions: https://t.co/odik0goeGU pic.twitter.com/GQhtkE0RSB
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 6, 2020
If looks could kill.
And this is in Hawaii, one of the most chilled places on earth, if Hollywood is to be believed. What’s it going to be like at tournaments in places like New York or Boston?
Now, if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, this all stemmed from Reed’s shenanigans at the Hero World Challenge in December where the 2018 Masters champion was caught on camera doing a bit of gardening in a waste area.
- Related: Should Reed have been disqualified?
And this was all before he made light of his actions at the Presidents Cup and his caddie got into a tussle with an Australian fan.
Some – and I’m very keen to stress that it is only some – American golf fans have long had a history of being, well, a bit obnoxious. As irritating as it is to hear the cries of “mashed potato” and “get in the hole”, it is largely harmless.
There is of course the odd fan that steps over the line. You may remember one of the gallery at the 2018 Honda Classic screaming “GET IN THE BUNKER!” at JT’s ball during the final round.
"Who said that? Who was cheering for that ball to get in the bunker? Was that you?"
"You're done, buddy, you're gone."A fan pulls for Justin Thomas' drive to get in a bunker. You then hear someone (Thomas' caddie? or course security?) identify him. pic.twitter.com/piGiWDbtww
— Hayes Permar (@DHPIV) February 25, 2018
And that’s JT! One of the good guys! At least with Reed you kind of get it. After all, he’s brought it all on himself.
I’m not sure where the “CHEATER!” guy ended up, I imagine he was tossed out of the tournament but the PGA Tour needs to take a long look at how they’re going to deal with this. The “mashed potato” brigade are one thing, players being verbally abused is a whole different beast.
As soon as they stuck that stadium around the 16th at Scottsdale and encouraged fans to get hammered and dress up and generally act like football fans, that behaviour was, of course, always going to transfer to other events.
Technically the fans aren’t breaking any rules, but abusing an athlete – or anyone for that matter – in their place of work crosses the line and it’ll be interesting to see how it is dealt with. If at all.
Is this acceptable or is Reed deserving of the abuse? Let us know in the comments below or you can tweet us.
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.
