THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody! Thanks so much for joining us today. I have the pleasure to introduce Patrick Reed. He's the member of the 4Aces and is fourth in the individual LIV Golf standings and we have a special guest today, so Windsor, the daughter of Patrick, is joining us as well. Welcome to Valderrama.
Patrick, you are coming off of a big win in LIV Golf Dallas and this also pushed you to fourth in the rankings. Can you tell us a little bit about that win and how you felt about it and how can you assess your season so far?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, it felt amazing obviously to get my first win out here on LIV. Dallas was a special week for me, not just because of it being my first win but also it was my first win in my home state.
On top of that, between all the work that my team did at home with equipment-wise and then to have actually my daughter's putter in play that week and to go out and win and make the putt at the end to win meant a lot.
No, it was an amazing week. We're looking forward to being here in Spain. Can't wait to get this week started. It's such an amazing place.
Q. This place, I think it's interesting because you have ended up twice in the top 5. How do you feel?
PATRICK REED: The game feels really solid. We feel ready to go. My biggest thing is when we're going into here is to really just stay patient. I know this golf course is challenging and it can really take it out of you, especially with ball-striking wise and trying to hit fairways around this place. For me really it's kind of go out there and try to do the same thing I've done the past two times here, just a little better, so I can hold up the trophy again.
Q. Windsor, welcome to Spain. What are you looking to see today from your dad?
WINDSOR REED: I want to see him beat everybody in Spain today.
Q. Do you have any recommendations for him to do that?
WINDSOR REED: Have some fun and do your best.
Q. With the Ryder Cup coming, what are the possibilities that you're going to be there?
PATRICK REED: It's a hard one to answer. I think it all comes down to next week at The Open. Obviously play well here, but go ahead and win the Open Championship, and I believe I'd be inside the top 6 on points, so I think that would lock it in and allow me to be on the team.
Really the next couple weeks I have to play some solid golf, go out and contend on Sundays, have a chance to win golf tournaments, and if I do that, then hopefully Keegan picks me. But at the end of the day, because we only get the majors that have points for the Ryder Cup, it's an uphill battle.
The good thing is I feel like I'm in a good spot right now as long as I go out and play well in the final major.
Q. You are one of the 19 LIV Golf players going to the Open next week in Portrush. Is this course helping you prepare for that because it's quite different. How are you preparing?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, this golf course is different, but at the same time, this week the wind is supposed to blow, which at The Open Championship it's always windy, and around a golf course like this you have to hit quality golf shots. You have to work the ball both ways and you have to start moving the ball in certain directions, and because of that -- at The Open Championship that's what you're doing the whole time. You're manipulating golf shots to work it into the wind or ride the wind or use the ground as your friend and not like back in the States where everything is just hit a ball up in the air. I feel like this place gets you in a good mindset on seeing a golf shot and hitting a golf shot like we're going to see next week.
Q. Windsor, can you talk us through the putter thing from last week? How did that all come about?
WINDSOR REED: Someone made the putter for me, but then my mom basically took some of the parts and made a putter for my dad over here. But it was worth it. I would say so.
Q. You've taken credit for that last putt to win in the playoff then?
WINDSOR REED: Yes.
Q. How much do you enjoy playing golf yourself?
WINDSOR REED: Yeah, I enjoy it.
PATRICK REED: Some of my best moments are playing with her. She'll go out and play with me, we'll play nine holes and put on some music and then afterwards we'll go to the club, grab some lunch, a couple Shirley Temples, usually chicken tenders and french fries, and just make a day of it.
Q. What are you eating this week?
WINDSOR REED: I'm going to try to eat spaghetti.
Q. Patrick, I don't think you had played Valderrama before joining LIV, if that's correct. When you first got here two years ago, did you think that this was going to be a course that fits your eye?
PATRICK REED: Not at all. I heard about this place. I heard about how hard it was. I heard it was a lot like a State-side like RBC Heritage where you could hit fairways but still be blocked out by trees and stuff like that. RBC Heritage, I never played well there either. So I was like, okay.
It's one of those golf courses everybody said was really hard but they always talked highly of it. I couldn't wait to get over. I'd always heard they had fast, firm greens. For me I was thinking, with that being said, it's going to come down to short game and hitting tee shots straight. For some reason, whatever form I've had coming into these last two years coming into this place, my driver, hitting balls off the tee all of a sudden kind of got a lot straighter and I actually drove it pretty well here because I feel like here I see shots a little better.
So this place, now actually being able to play it, it's fit my eye really well. But coming in, I had no idea what to expect. I just heard it was almost an impossible golf course, so narrow and everything, and I was like, that fits a guy like me who hits it all over the place and has to get up-and-down. It's always a golf course I'm excited to come back to, so can't wait, and it looks like the golf course is in amazing shape. I've already been out there, and we're looking forward to another good week.
Q. I also want to ask you about teams stringing together wins. Obviously the Crushers have won three straight, Fireballs won three straight earlier this year. You have the record in 2022 of winning four straight. Is there something about the team competition aspect that you're able to -- teams are able to string together victories maybe a little bit easier, ride that momentum, than say individuals?
PATRICK REED: Well, I think for the team thing, you need all four guys to be playing some solid golf. You know how golf is; it's a kind of momentum game. Once you start getting some of that momentum and start playing solid and getting that confidence, it kind of trickles down into the team, and then all the other guys start playing a little better and once you have all four of your guys playing some solid and steady golf, that's what wins golf tournaments, especially counting all four scores.
I can definitely see why teams go on those runs. Individually if you look at the Crushers, for example, or when we were going on our four-event run, all the guys were playing solid. No one was really playing poorly. That's how you win team golf.
Individually-wise, you can still play some really solid golf, but three days if somebody goes out and shoots a really low one, it's hard to catch him and clip him. It comes down to playing solid golf as a team, and when one guy is playing well and his confidence is up and you're around him a little bit, it trickles down into the rest of the guys.
Q. Going back to 2022, do you remember what it was like during that stretch? Did you feel like you guys were pretty much unbeatable? You were for a while.
PATRICK REED: Yeah. Yeah, we had four guys playing some really good golf at once. The one thing I remember, it always seemed the Aces were always on top. It was awesome looking at the leaderboard and seeing 4Aces up there. We need to get back to that. I feel like we're working our way back there. I feel like the guys are all -- we're in the right spot mentally, and I feel like our game-wise we're all where we need to be, we just need to put it all together at the same time, and our time is coming.
Q. Windsor, when your dad was making that putt, where were you? Were you watching it on TV or were you somewhere else?
WINDSOR REED: We were going to the airport, and we were just getting out of the car, and my mom was like, wait, we have to watch this putt. We were outside the airport, and we had just got there because we were going to Germany. Then when he made the putt, we were like, "yeahhhhhh!"
Q. When you're playing in front of your daughter, what are the key life skills that you try to teach her through the game of golf?
PATRICK REED: I think the biggest thing is learning how to deal with emotions, the ups and downs of life. It's like just a golf course, you hit a good golf shot, get a bad break, all of a sudden you need to be able to bounce back from that. You can't let little things keep you down.
At the same time, when you get too hyped up and too excited, you need to know how to deal with humility, level yourself out, and really just to show her that it's just a game. We're out here having fun.
She's an amazing singer. She loves volleyball and playing sports. It's like, you want to come out and spend time with daddy today? I'm not going to say no. Daddy is going to be like, yeah, of course. She's going to see what it's like during a pro-am and we're going to have some fun and laughs today. She's going to see some good shots and some interesting golf shots from the other guys we're playing with.
Q. Windsor, you have been in numerous golf events. What is it you enjoy the most when you come to LIV Golf?
WINDSOR REED: Honestly, when I come to LIV Golf, I just want to watch people play.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Thank you to both of you.
MODERADOR: Buenos días a todos. Muchas gracias por acompañarnos hoy. Tengo el placer de presentar a Patrick Reed, miembro del equipo 4Aces y actualmente cuarto en la clasificación individual de LIV Golf. Hoy tenemos una invitada especial: su hija Windsor también nos acompaña. Bienvenidos a Valderrama.
Patrick, vienes de lograr una gran victoria en LIV Golf Dallas, que además te ha colocado cuarto en el ranking. ¿Puedes contarnos un poco sobre esa victoria, cómo te sentiste y cómo valoras tu temporada hasta ahora?
PATRICK REED: Sí, fue increíble conseguir mi primera victoria aquí en LIV. Dallas fue una semana muy especial para mí, no solo por ser mi primera victoria, sino también porque fue en mi estado natal.
Además, todo el trabajo que mi equipo hizo en casa -en cuanto a equipamiento- y el hecho de que usé el putter de mi hija esa semana, y luego lograr embocar ese último putt para ganar… significó muchísimo.
Fue una semana espectacular. Estamos muy ilusionados por estar aquí en España. No vemos la hora de que empiece esta semana. Es un lugar increíble.
P: Este lugar es interesante porque has terminado dos veces dentro del Top 5. ¿Cómo te sientes?
PATRICK REED: Mi juego se siente muy sólido. Estamos listos. Lo más importante para mí aquí es tener paciencia. Este campo es muy exigente, sobre todo en cuanto a golpes largos y encontrar calles. Así que mi enfoque será hacer lo mismo que las dos veces anteriores, solo que un poco mejor, y así poder alzar el trofeo.
P: Windsor, bienvenida a España. ¿Qué esperas ver hoy de tu papá?
WINDSOR REED: Quiero verlo ganarle a todos en España hoy.
P: ¿Algún consejo para que lo logre?
WINDSOR REED: Que se divierta y que dé lo mejor de sí.
P: Con la Ryder Cup acercándose, ¿cuáles son las posibilidades de que estés allí?
PATRICK REED: Es difícil de decir. Todo depende de la próxima semana en The Open. Obviamente quiero jugar bien aquí, pero si gano The Open, creo que estaría dentro del Top 6 en puntos, lo que me aseguraría un lugar en el equipo.
Las próximas semanas necesito jugar un golf sólido, pelear los domingos, tener opciones de ganar torneos. Si hago eso, ojalá Keegan me elija. Pero como solo los majors nos dan puntos para la Ryder Cup, es una lucha cuesta arriba.
La buena noticia es que siento que estoy en buena forma, mientras juegue bien en el último major.
P: Eres uno de los 19 jugadores de LIV Golf que van al Open la semana que viene en Portrush. Este campo es muy distinto; ¿te está sirviendo para prepararte? ¿Cómo te estás preparando?
PATRICK REED: Sí, este campo es distinto, pero esta semana se espera viento, y en The Open siempre hay viento. En un campo como este tienes que pegar golpes de calidad, mover la bola en ambas direcciones, controlar el vuelo.
En The Open haces lo mismo: manipulas los golpes para cortar o aprovechar el viento, usar el terreno a tu favor, no como en EE.UU., donde todo es golpear alto. Este campo te pone en la mentalidad adecuada para ver el golpe y ejecutarlo, como haremos la semana próxima.
P: Windsor, ¿puedes contarnos lo del putter de la semana pasada? ¿Cómo surgió?
WINDSOR REED: Alguien me hizo ese putter, pero luego mi mamá tomó algunas piezas y armó uno para mi papá. Pero valió la pena. ¡Diría que sí!
P: ¿Entonces te llevas el crédito por ese último putt para ganar?
WINDSOR REED: Sí.
P: ¿Te gusta jugar al golf?
WINDSOR REED: Sí, me gusta.
PATRICK REED: Algunos de mis mejores momentos son jugando con ella. Vamos a jugar nueve hoyos, ponemos música, y después vamos al club a almorzar—Shirley Temples, fingers de pollo, papas fritas—y pasamos un gran día juntos.
P: ¿Qué vas a comer esta semana?
WINDSOR REED: Voy a intentar comer espaguetis.
P: Patrick, creo que no habías jugado Valderrama antes de unirte a LIV, ¿es correcto? Cuando llegaste hace dos años, ¿pensaste que sería un campo que se adaptaría a tu juego?
PATRICK REED: Para nada. Había oído que era muy difícil. Me decían que era como el RBC Heritage en EE.UU., donde puedes pegarle al fairway pero quedar bloqueado por árboles. Nunca jugué bien ahí, así que pensé: "veremos".
Todos decían que era difícil, pero hablaban maravillas del lugar. Tenía muchas ganas de venir. Sabía que los greens eran rápidos y firmes. Pensé: "esto será cuestión de juego corto y pegarle recto desde el tee".
Por alguna razón, en mis dos años jugando aquí, empecé a pegarle mucho más recto desde el tee y mi driver funcionó mejor. Aquí veo mejor los golpes.
Ahora que lo he jugado, realmente se adapta a mi juego. Pero antes de venir, no tenía ni idea de qué esperar. Solo sabía que era casi imposible, muy estrecho. Y eso le va bien a alguien como yo, que a veces va por todos lados y necesita salvar golpes con el juego corto. Siempre me emociona volver. El campo está en excelente estado, ya lo recorrí, y estamos listos para otra buena semana.
P: Quería preguntarte sobre los equipos encadenando victorias. Los Crushers ganaron tres seguidos, los Fireballs también. Vosotros tenéis el récord con cuatro seguidas en 2022. ¿Qué hace que los equipos puedan mantener esa racha, quizás más que los jugadores individuales?
PATRICK REED: En los equipos, necesitas que los cuatro jugadores estén jugando bien. El golf es un deporte de impulso. Cuando uno empieza a jugar sólido y gana confianza, eso se contagia al equipo. Cuando los cuatro juegan bien, eso gana torneos, especialmente si cuentan los cuatro resultados.
Por eso los equipos pueden encadenar rachas. Mira a los Crushers o a nosotros en 2022, todos estábamos jugando bien. Nadie lo hacía mal. Así se gana en golf por equipos.
A nivel individual puedes jugar sólido, pero si alguien tiene una vuelta muy baja en tres días, es difícil alcanzarlo. En equipo, el buen juego y la confianza se contagian.
P: Volviendo a 2022, ¿recuerdas cómo se sintieron durante esa racha? ¿Sentías que eran imbatibles?
PATRICK REED: Sí, teníamos a los cuatro jugando un gran golf al mismo tiempo. Recuerdo que siempre parecía que los 4Aces estábamos arriba. Era genial ver "4Aces" en lo más alto del tablero. Tenemos que volver a eso. Siento que estamos en el camino. Todos estamos mentalmente en buen lugar, el juego está donde debe estar… solo falta que encajemos todo al mismo tiempo. Nuestro momento llegará.
P: Windsor, cuando tu papá estaba haciendo ese putt, ¿dónde estabas? ¿Lo viste en la tele?
WINDSOR REED: Íbamos camino al aeropuerto, acabábamos de bajarnos del coche, y mi mamá dijo: "espera, tenemos que ver este putt". Estábamos afuera del aeropuerto, justo llegábamos porque íbamos a Alemania. Y cuando lo embocó, dijimos: "¡siiiiii!"
P: Cuando juegas delante de tu hija, ¿qué valores de vida intentas enseñarle a través del golf?
PATRICK REED: Lo más importante es aprender a manejar las emociones, los altibajos de la vida. Como en un campo de golf: haces un buen golpe, tienes mala suerte… y hay que saber recuperarse. No puedes dejar que las pequeñas cosas te hundan.
Y si estás demasiado emocionado, también hay que saber mantener la humildad, estabilizarse. Quiero enseñarle que esto es solo un juego. Estamos aquí para divertirnos.
Ella canta increíble, le encanta el voleibol y otros deportes. Si quiere venir conmigo hoy al pro-am, ¿cómo voy a decirle que no? Por supuesto que sí. Verá cómo es jugar un pro-am, nos reiremos, pasaremos un buen rato, y verá buenos golpes… y otros interesantes de los jugadores con los que nos toque.
MODERADOR: Muchas gracias a los dos.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports