CLARE BODEL: Welcome to the Media Centre, Patrick. We're back here at the season-ending event, and you have a chance to win this whole thing. Just wondering how the mindset is coming into this final event of the season with the Race to Dubai trophy still there.
PATRICK REED: The mindset, I mean, obviously I feel well but the mindset coming in obviously is it's a sprint. I mean, we have one tournament, kind of have to go out there with Rory and Eugenio ahead of me. You have to think the only way to win the whole thing is by winning this golf tournament.
So you have one opportunity. Go out there and try and get it done, and that's kind of the mindset going into this. Just put it down, step down on the gas and get going.
Q. How is the body feeling at the moment? Obviously you had the incident at Wentworth and your form probably hasn't been quite how you wanted it to be. How is the body in that regard?
PATRICK REED: The body feels great. My body is a hundred percent, so there's no issues there. It's been weird, ever since being back from that, I've actually felt like I've been doing some things really well. Just the ball not going in the hole. It's one of those that you head-scratch at the end of each day and try to figure out, how did that number equate to that high.
The good thing is I'm at a golf course I'm really comfortable had. I've had success at this place. The game feels good and ready to go. Just kind of itching for Thursday to get here.
Q. You told me earlier in the season that you were craving the opportunity to go head-to-head with Rory, and Eugenio, as well; and you go out together on Thursday, that's going to be cool, isn't it?
PATRICK REED: It's going to be a blast. Obviously playing with Rory is always fun and to go head-to-head, and with having Eugenio in there who is playing some amazing golf this year. Had an opportunity to with him on LIV and see what type of golfer he is. It's great to see him grow and the way he's playing. It's going to be a fun weekend.
Q. Can you just talk a little bit about how satisfying this season has been for you? Obviously coming to the DP World Tour was important at the stage of your career when you left LIV. Just talk about the season generally.
PATRICK REED: The year has been very satisfying, and really, I've kind of reflected a little bit on it the past couple weeks, on kind of going out there. And rankings don't really mean anything at the beginning of the year, throughout the year and everything like that. It's about going out there and getting the job done.
To kind of make that step and make the opportunity, to have to finish in the Top 10 to earn my spot on the PGA Tour, and basically come out and believe in myself and put all my eggs in one basket and go get the job done means a lot.
But we are still not done. We have one more week, and still have that opportunity to be the second American to win The Race to Dubai, which would mean a lot to me. So hopefully we can go out there and cap off year.
Q. The LIV players are probably going to have to come to the DP World Tour next season. You're a step ahead of them.
PATRICK REED: To be honest with you, I mean, I don't really get any satisfaction from making a decision and watching the other guys have to sit out a year and have the repercussions of that.
The more satisfaction is going out there and playing solid golf. You never want to see guys struggle or have to sit out, things like that. I mean, we're all competitors. We're all athletes and really, at the end of the day, a lot of those guys that are going through that are good friends of mine. You sit there, and you just hope that they are able to come out and do what I did: Come out and play solid golf and come out on the PGA Tour.
Q. What ambitions do you have next year on the PGA Tour then?
PATRICK REED: I mean, I want to go out there -- I haven't really set my goals yet, but obviously going back on the PGA Tour, go make the Ryder Cup Team. Go out and get back to the winner's circle on the PGA Tour like I was right before I left. Go out there and assert myself into the Top 10 in the world again.
Get back up to where I feel like I should be, and just continue giving myself opportunities and having fun on the weekend and compete in the majors and hopefully get more than just the one green jacket I have. Hopefully win a couple more.
Q. You mentioned this week being a sprint. Rory last week had 29 birdies and an eagle and still didn't win. What will you have to do this week?
PATRICK REED: Well, if you have 29 birdies and an eagle, you'll win the golf tournament, I can guarantee that.
This is one of those golf courses that you have opportunities if you're hitting the ball well you can attack this place, but this golf course has a little bit of patience in it. You can't be reckless at this place because you can get yourself into some spots, especially with how the rough is this week, you're going to get yourself into some really sticky situations where par is going to be a hard score to get out of from certain areas.
For me, it's more about attacking on the second shot. I mean, not being too aggressive off the tee. Obviously this golf course because it's longer, there's a lot of drivers, anyways.
But there's some holes that just you have to kind of lay back a little bit, like stay short of certain type of bunkers or things like that that are just penalising. It's one of those weeks that even though it's a sprint, you have to be disciplined, and if you do that, you should be able to get rewarded at the end.
Q. After his victory in Abu Dhabi, now Jon Rahm is also in contention for The Race to Dubai. How do you value his, let's say, comeback to the top positions of The Race to Dubai, and how dangerous do you think he can be this week?
PATRICK REED: Jon is always dangerous. Look what he did on LIV. You look at his career before LIV and then while he was at LIV, and then obviously now, I mean, he's a guy that you always have to worry about.
And the thing is, though, with that win last week, it propelled him high enough up, and hopefully going out there and because you're ahead of him, you've just got to go out there and play good golf.
But yeah, I mean, the thing is, this week, you can't really focus on all the other guys around you. You have to go out there and take care of your own business. You only can control what you do. You can't control what other players do.
So if you go out there and play the best you can and play some really solid golf, hopefully at the end, it's good enough.
But yeah, it's a star-studded field this week and you have Jon and Tyrrell playing really well. You have Rory, Eugenio, myself; the list goes on. It's going to be a fun and exciting final event.
Q. As you sit here, do you regret not playing more after your win in Qatar? You played like five events in four months; and what was the reason for that?
PATRICK REED: No. Really it was just kind of what we were setting out the schedule, we felt like that was a schedule that was going to be more front-loaded and back-loaded, just because of all the travel we've had for the past three years. Travelling around the world all the time, it seemed like those are going to be hard trips to make after each major, to fly so far from home, come back straight back, have jet-lag, prepare for a major.
We knew coming in that that was going to be our schedule going forward, and really, it's been a quality year. The year's been a solid year. It's just kind of going out there and hopefully have one really good showing this week and hopefully be able to finish it off.
Q. Dubai must be a special place for you because of what you did earlier this year, as well, and now you have a chance to win The Race to Dubai as well. I know that was on a different golf course, but when you come over here, do you feel happy about it? You have a great record on this golf course, as well, a 64 in 2018. What is the kind of vibe that you get from this city, and will you remember it for the rest of your life for what it has done for you?
PATRICK REED: I'll always remember Dubai. The place has been amazing not only to me, but just being able to spend a decent amount of time in this city and around the area, it's been absolutely amazing. I mean, the weather is always perfect. I mean, I think there's only one year at the Dubai Desert Classic where we had that rain, and it barely rained. I was sitting there going and thinking to myself, if you have that type of rain in Houston, that is a normal day. And for the whole place to be flooded, it was crazy to see.
But no, I mean, the golf courses I've always really enjoyed. Same type of grassy play at home, that nasty bermuda. I give it kind of a feel of being back at home, yet at the same time you're so far away. With having family over here, our cousin who lives here in Dubai, it's always nice to come over and spend time with family.
Yeah, it's a place that I'll ever in forget and can't wait for the kids to get a little older and come over and visit with me.
Q. You've played so many golf courses around the world for so many years. Are there any that you haven't played that you want to, and is there a bucket list there still?
PATRICK REED: To be honest with you, I haven't even thought about that. I mean, obviously I haven't been to New Zealand. I've heard some great things about New Zealand and that area.
I mean, there's some golf courses around world that other guys have said are like hidden gems that I haven't played that I at some point will probably play. Just kind of depends on whether there's a tournament there or -- but yeah, off the top of my head, the only one that I know of that I haven't been to that people say I need to go to is New Zealand.
But I mean, with how much I've travelled over my career, I feel like I've been just about everywhere else in the world.
I mean, it was crazy kind of when we sat down, my daughter got this big map for Christmas and she could put pins in the countries that she's been to, and then there's ones she wants to put in that she wants to go to. It's like, all right, here's five pins to put in where you think you want to go to.
She's like, "Well, daddy, can you start putting in pins where you've been?" And as I started -- I said, no, I'm not doing the same thing. She's sitting there, I'm like pin, pin, pin. I'm like, man, there's going to be nothing but pins on this place.
It's crazy to sit back and reflect at all the places I've been, and to be honest with you, it's still pretty cool as a player and as person, being able to travel around the world and play all the places and see all the cultures and different people. It's been a blast and fun, and been tiring but at the same time. I've been really enjoying it, and looking forward to continue travelling the world and playing golf.
Q. It was announced yesterday that The Open was heading back to Carnoustie. You played one Open Championship there, finished in mid-20s and you've played it in the Dunhill, a very different course, I would suspect. What do you think about Carnoustie as a test for The Open Championship?
PATRICK REED: It's definitely an Open Championship test for sure. During the Dunhill, it's a heck of a lot easier than it was that one Open. That one Open, it was so firm, I've never -- I mean, just trying to wrap your head around hitting certain clubs from certain distances. I mean, what is it, I think 5 is the par 4 right before Hogan Alley.
When I got there the week before to play two of the days, went out there and one of the caddies was ahead of us. He was marking the ball where it would land so he could see where the ball would land and where the ball would finish. It's 304 or something like that to that ditch, and I end up hitting 7-iron to stop short. It rolled 289 yards, and the ball just wouldn't stop.
That's just the thing is, you know, it's such a different type of golf, and especially at a place like Carnoustie that not only do you have to be able to control how far the ball is going, but if you get just a little off-line, hitting out of that fescue is impossible. It's one of those places that it's not as technical-wise, it's not as different and as difficult. It's more of a mental issue, sitting there looking at numbers, seeing, okay, 130 yards and hitting 7-iron because it's blowing 40 into the wind or sitting there, it's 250, but it's 7-iron with how firm it is and get comfortable making a normal golf swing.
I feel like that's always been the hard part about links golf is stepping up there and hitting those weird numbers that you normally just don't see, and trusting that's just a normal golf swing and not trying to guide it.
Q. What would it mean for you to be back in the 2027 Ryder Cup U.S. Team?
PATRICK REED: Oh, it would mean everything. Any time I can represent United States and wear red, white and blue means a lot for me.
And I know obviously for my team and my family, and yeah, to get back and playing on those Ryder Cup teams and being a thorn in the side for those Europeans has always been something I've always enjoyed and had fun with.
It's one of those things that as a golfer and as a player, you're always wanting. No matter what sport you are, you are wanting to represent your country and go out there and play for your country.
So for me, it would mean a lot. And obviously I know next year it's going to be important to go out there and play really well next year to make the team. It's definitely going to be a part of the goals, if not right there right at the top of first thing I want to do, is go out there and represent our country and play for the USA.
CLARE BODEL: Okay. If there are no more questions, thank you, as ever, for your time Patrick. Good luck this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports