STEVE TODD: Welcome back to Saudi. Third consecutive year here. Before we talk about this week, give us your thoughts on travelling over with a victory. Nice way to start the year and get some momentum.
PATRICK REED: Biggest thing really, for me, to see how the new swing changes and everything were going to hold up under pressure and towards the end on a Sunday, I feel like I made huge strides with making a change with Leadbetter and everything especially on the range and during practise rounds and during the first couple rounds.
But to actually be in the final group on a Sunday on a demanding golf course and kind of seeing how it was going to hold up. For me, seeing how well it held up, not only on Sunday, but kind of how I've been playing -- and really, I think the biggest thing was yesterday. Yesterday we got in at 1.00, 1.30 in the morning, and jet-lagged like crazy. Didn't really feel like I was inside my body. Felt like I was wobbling around everywhere.
To come out here and get a little bit of practise in and feel like I still had control of the golf club was a huge thing. Because normally whenever that happens, you kind of get into bad habits but I was able to kind of keep the swing tied he'd up and it felt great, and then getting out there today, it felt awesome to be back. And playing with one of the gentlemen that I played with last year, it was good to catch up and see him and hang out.
STEVE TODD: You obviously had a great year on The European Tour last year and I know you always enjoy coming over and playing. Just give us your thoughts on starting your journey this year on The European Tour, particularly in Saudi. You have always had a great reception here. I know you can't see the schoolkids you visited the last couple of years; such is the COVID time, you can't do group visits, but you've always had a great reception when you've come across.
PATRICK REED: It's awesome to come over here. The support that this event has and the support that Saudi has given the players, as well as just the Tour, is amazing. For us, coming over and playing and having a golf course that's continuously gotten better and better each year, and the hospitality is amazing. It's one of these places you really look forward to coming to and playing.
For me, it's always fun coming over and playing on The European Tour. Get away from my comfort zone at home. Now being able to come over, it's almost making me feel comfortable coming over and play on The European Tour. It's one of these things that I call my second home, and to be able to come over and play and support both tours for me means a lot.
Q. Given all the chatter that was going on, how important was that Sunday for you, and what does it talk about your mental strength that you managed to pull this off?
PATRICK REED: Really the biggest thing for me was just to continue growing and working with my coach on things that we are trying to do in my golf swing. Trying to get it dialed in and really just seeing how it was going to handle under the gun, especially during pressure.
Because even though the swing doesn't look much different, it feels way different. Being in a situation finally where you're really putting the pressure on it in the final round, seeing how if you're going to revert back to your old swing or if you're going to be able to stick with the new. I feel like because of that, I was able to really focus on what we were trying to do out there, and that was to go out and hit fairways, try to make as many birdies as we possibly could, and have a chance to win at the end.
Q. What are, broadly, the changes that you have made in your swing? Just maybe a couple of things.
PATRICK REED: The biggest thing I would say is we're trying to get it to where it's more kind of body rotating and supporting the golf club, not so much using my hands. Lead putts it the best way. He says that "you have magic hands." He's not only talking just around the greens, how I use them around the greens, but in my golf swing, they are very -- they move a lot; the rotation on them is too much or way too little if I'm trying to hit a cut.
So we're really just trying to get in there where we support it a little better at the top and just use more of my body to release draw it and release fade it with a body rather than the hands.
Q. There's still some chatter out of what happened on 10 on Saturday at Torrey Pines, and Graeme McDowell was in here yesterday and suggested that he didn't see anything wrong with what you did, but that you have an issue or a propensity to be part of those kind of issues going forward -- from past history. Do you feel that way? Do you feel that people unfairly look at you when you -- when something like that at 10 happens and automatically makes a decision when it's not fair?
PATRICK REED: I would say yes. Really what happened at 10 yesterday, I mean, at 10 last week, it was really -- I feel like it was handled the best way that we could, and it was obviously handled the correct way when talking -- and really talking with the rules officials and seeing it through the rules officials.
Really, that was last week, and really the biggest thing for us is to focus on this week and focus on this golf tournament and go out and try to get another W.
Q. Most of us, when things like that happen, we kind of try to shy away from it, try to be more protective. If a situation like that comes up in the future, will you be -- will you try to be more proactive versus what you did?
PATRICK REED: What do you mean? Sorry.
Q. A lot of people suggested that picking up the ball was not the ideal thing. Not saying it's right or wrong, but just saying the perception was by picking up the ball, there was something untoward happening. In the future if you had that similar situation, do you think you would still go through the same process that you did?
PATRICK REED: Well, I went through the processes that are in the rules. You put the tee down to mark the ball after asking the guys and declaring that you're going to check to see if the ball is embedded. So you put down the tee to check to see if the ball is embedded. And when it looked like it was, that's when you call over a rules official to see, not only have him just reconfirm but also to take a drop and figure out what the rules are, but also to take a drop and figure out what the rules are. Because also, that's one of the rules that has changed from the past where it used to be you drop the closest spot to that and now it's a club length.
So for me it was making sure I was doing the right drop rather than taking the incorrect relief rather than taking an incorrect drop.
Q. I think what I'm asking is -- I'm not suggesting you didn't do anything correctly. I think most people say you did now, as time's gone on. But because of seeing it and how people react so quickly to things like that, any time a player touches the ball, people react to that. I'm just saying, I'm just suggesting that in the future, would you be more reluctant to do the same processes, even though it was right?
PATRICK REED: It's hard to say how -- like how I would change any situation considering I did it straight -- basically straight by the rule book.
It's one of those things that when you have all the guys that didn't see the ball bounce, and then you have a volunteer that said they didn't see it bounce either, and then the only way to check it is by putting a tee in and checking; if I wait -- if I waited for a rules official every single time or something like that, now you have to worry about pace of play and holding groups up behind you, as well as getting out of position.
But any time it's a situation where you don't know or no one was sure of what it did or didn't do, that's then when of course you're always going to have a rules official come. Any time I hit it, whether it's in a water hazard or whether it's by a sprinkler head or any kind of drop, you all bring a rules official in just to make sure you're doing the right drop.
Q. Are you personally bothered by the fact that your latest performance, your victory, has been that much overshadowed by this drop situation on Saturday?
PATRICK REED: Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you.
Q. Are you bothered that the drop situation overshadowed your last win, actually?
PATRICK REED: No, not at all. Really, I've moved on from last week and really my biggest thing, what I'm here, is trying to focus on this week and having a chance late Sunday to hopefully win another one and really try to hopefully win my first European Tour event over here.
Q. Another one about last week. How do you react when you hear fellow players like Xander Schauffele say, "Talk amongst the boys isn't great, but he" -- meaning "he," meaning yourself -- "is protected by the Tour." What do you think he means by that and what do you think when you hear something like that.
PATRICK REED: Well, I've actually -- I've actually talked to Schauffele. Him and I actually talked earlier this week. I'm just going to leave it between him and I because really, it's one of those things that all you can do is try to do the right thing and from that point, move on.
Q. Are you concerned at all that it might lead to problems down the line in maybe team competitions like Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup if your fellow players don't seem happy with you?
PATRICK REED: No, not at all.
Q. One of the things that's changed over time is social media and the immediacy of social media, how everyone can go on there to air their concerns or their celebrations right away. How do you personally deal with social media?
PATRICK REED: I don't read it. I think that's the easiest way is to not read all the chatter of what's going on on social media. And really for me, it's more kind of go out and do my business on the golf course and go home and hang out with the little ones, and try to be a dad once golf is over rather than being an athlete.
Q. Did you call Xander or did Xander call you?
PATRICK REED: We're talking through text.
Q. Okay. Who initiated that, I guess, is what I'm asking.
PATRICK REED: He texted me first.
Q. And that was on Monday?
PATRICK REED: That would have been -- well, that probably would have been Monday. Actually might have been Sunday night. I don't -- it doesn't mean -- it didn't show what time it came in because my phone was off when we came overseas and we left two hours after the putt went in.
So once the phone went off there, I didn't land here until, what was it 17, almost 18 hours -- 17 hours later. Just all the text messages came in saying it was that time whenever I turned my phone back on. It didn't say what time it was.
Q. Do you feel like even though -- I'm not asking you to tell me what the conversation was like in text, but do you feel like it was resolved?
PATRICK REED: We're good. We're all good. Yeah.
Q. Just understand the way you deal with those kind of situations, do you get some more energy when you're accused of something like that to perform even better to block those things out and just show with your clubs that you're way more than that? How do you deal with those situations?
PATRICK REED: Really the biggest thing is to go out and play the best golf I can. I've always been really good at blocking out noise and focusing on what's at hand. I think that's what's amazing about golfers in this day and age, as well as all the greats of the game, is that to be really good at golf, you have to really be mentally strong. And whether it's -- whether you make a double or whether you make a birdie, you can't get too high. You can't get too low. You have to forget about it and move on and go onto the next shot. That's the best way to be successful today.
At this level, everyone can hit the ball well and everyone can make putts and everyone can chip. It's usually the guy who wins week-in, week-out, mentally is the strongest that week as well as is able to overcome all the ups and downs of golf. Throughout a round of golf, there's a million ups and downs, it seems like.
STEVE TODD: Patrick, thanks for joining us. Good luck with the jet-lag and good luck this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports