THE MODERATOR: Please welcome to the LIV Golf Dallas media center, Patrick Reed of 4Aces GC. You're currently 18th in the individual standings with three top 10s this season. You live about 230 miles south down I-45 so I'm sure it's nice to tee it up in your home state. How would you evaluate your game coming out of the U.S. Open at Oakmont?
PATRICK REED: Well, I mean, considering at Oakmont, I feel like every player was complaining and meowing about the rough, so you're sitting there, just like, all right, what are we going to do when we're coming to a normal golf course. How does the game really feel.
I think that was the first time I've ever played where you're trying to hit it in the bunker rather than hitting it in the rough because it basically felt like a shot penalty anytime you're hitting it in there.
Going into this week it was going to see how the game really feels, and I feel like the ball-striking is where it needs to be. We need to make sure after putting on those fast greens at Oakmont we can dial it in here. I've never been so defensive, I'd say, on putting compared to normal places.
Game feels good. We're ready to go. Hopefully have a good week here.
Q. Last year at the Team Championship, you won both of your singles matches on the first two days and then shot 69 in the final day and the team tied for second. What do you like about Maridoe, and how confident do you feel not just about your chances this week but also the team's chances to win for the first time since 2023?
PATRICK REED: Really, the golf course last time we were here I felt like was a little firmer, a little faster, a little less penal on the rough. But for match play last year, I thought it was perfect. Really played into that risk-reward kind of factors. I feel like with how thick the rough is this year it's going to be more strategic because the rough is thick now.
That being said, I feel like with our team, with kind of how we're all hitting the ball and how we're playing at the moment, I feel like it's going to be a good week for us, have a chance to win our first team title and hopefully get my first individual title out here, especially so close to home.
It's going to be a hot week. With it being hot, it's going to be more about managing your time, managing your energy level, and not really meowing so much and complaining about the heat rather than keeping your head down and just out and playing golf.
Q. Last year in the quarterfinals you beat Thomas Pieters pretty handily. He's now your teammate. Will you mention that at all this week, or because he's playing in such good form right now, maybe you don't say anything to him?
PATRICK REED: I don't think I really need to mention it too much to him. It's a different type of event. We've got stroke play compared to match play.
I seem to run into my teammates quite a bit. When Petey was on the team I played him twice in college in match play, and I played Thomas Pieters and it all turned out the same kind of way. It's awesome having Thomas on our team. He's a great guy. He works so hard. He's playing some great golf, so I'm glad he's on our team this year, and hopefully we all can follow suit, play some solid golf and go out and have a chance to win.
Q. Have you thought at all about the Ryder Cup and being a potential pick, and if so, what do you think you need to do over the last few months to prove yourself?
PATRICK REED: It's always on your mind. Anytime I get to represent our country, it means a lot to me. For me personally, I'm always thinking about trying to make every team.
Obviously being a part of LIV where we don't get points, it's an uphill battle, but really for me it's focused on playing some great golf and having a chance. It's really going to come down to the Open Championship, having a chance to win there. You have a really good showing and play well there, then you just never know.
It is looking like no matter what it's going to rely on a pick unless I go ahead and win the Open. Really the only way I can focus on the Ryder Cup is that one week, go out and give all I have and have a chance to win.
Q. In terms of this week, what skill set is this course requiring for you to contend?
PATRICK REED: I played the front yesterday. I didn't play the back until today. Really, it feels completely different than last year. Last year was really firm, fast fairways, the rough was kind of low. Like I said earlier, it was set up more for match play so you could take risks off the tee if you needed to. There's always two or three ways to play both of the holes.
After seeing the front nine yesterday, obviously you want to hit the ball, get it as far down there as you can, but it's more strategic, putting it in the right place, being able to attack the greens from there. It seems like from the rough you have to rely so much on how is the ball going to come out and watching the ball bounce and roll all over these hills, unlike from the fairway the greens seem a little bit more receptive. You can attack.
It's kind of completely different. I would feel like just having control of the golf ball and really just kind of picking your spots and really focusing and diving into exactly what shot you're hitting and fully committing to it, considering last time I played here it was like, all right, do I want to full send this over there, have kind of that 50/50 opportunity, or do I play it smart.
It's just going into this place with a fresh mind and really a new look rather than sitting there and just kind of going for every birdie possible and full send because in match play it doesn't matter if you make a 3 or a 6. You're either 1-up, 1-down or all square. It's not going to affect the scores much.
Q. Following up on the Ryder Cup question, Keegan Bradley has been playing really good golf. Would you be in favor of him being a playing captain?
PATRICK REED: Honestly, for me, if I was in his shoes, if I felt like I was playing as the top 12, inside that top 12, then I'd play.
The thing about being a captain, it's about putting the best team forward no matter who it is, and whoever is in the best form is obviously one of those guys that I'd make sure is on the team. If he continues playing the way he's playing and continues competing on Sundays and having a chance to win, I'm all for it.
It's all what he feels like is the best for the team, and if that means him playing is best for the team, that's what you have amazing vice captains for is to take over that role if you're out there having a chance to play and have a good chance for the U.S. to bring the Cup home.
Q. If you're able to win here, what would it win for you to win in your home state?
PATRICK REED: It would mean a lot. It would be my first LIV event victory as an individual, but also to win at home is always important, always nice.
For it to be the start of a five-week run I'm going on, it would give me that confidence going into the next four.
Q. Joaquín has won four of the first eight tournaments this year. Wondering what kind of chatter amongst the rest of the competitors in terms of what he's doing this season.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, he needs to slow down. He's won 50 percent of them. He's playing some unbelievable golf. Every time he's on the leaderboard he's that guy you have to take care of and attack. You're always looking for his name because you know if you're close to him, you have a chance to win.
He's playing some spectacular golf this year. It's just you go out there, try to shoot as low as possible, and hopefully you're competing with him late on Sunday and hopefully you're the one on top.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports