DOUG MILNE: Like to welcome 2016 and 2019 NORTHERN TRUST winner, Patrick Reed. Thank you for joining us for a few minutes heading into the 2020 FedExCup Playoffs, you're coming in in great position. Just some thoughts on being back to a tournament that's obviously very special to you.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, it's awesome to be back obviously as a defending champion and being at a different venue, it's a little different, but at the same time, I feel like I've played some pretty good times around here at TPC Boston. I feel like we're in good form coming into this week and feel confident, and to be able to start Playoffs as a defending champ is always a plus. You always feel a little bit more comfortable whenever you step up on the tee.
DOUG MILNE: You're coming into the week in great form with seven Top-10 finishes so far this season,, just assess the state of your game as you're heading into the week.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing is I think the game is really coming into form. Last week I felt like I hit the ball pretty solid. Felt like I putted pretty well. Would have liked to make a couple more putts last week, but the good thing is, I feel like I'm hitting my lines. I feel like I'm hitting the ball how I want to and hitting the putts how I want to, and I just need the hole to get in the way a little bit more often.
As a whole, we feel really good. I feel like the game is where it needs to be coming into the Playoffs and I think that's the biggest thing. I don't feel like I need to play catch up or reinvent the wheel. I need to go out and play solid and continue putting the ball in the fairway and be able to attack golf courses.
DOUG MILNE: You've will be had I good success here at TPC Boston, three top six finishes consecutive years here. Talk about how this course sets up well for your game.
PATRICK REED: The biggest thing is I feel like I can work the ball both ways off the tee. There's not many tee shots I step up on this golf course I don't feel comfortable, and to be able to feel confident and comfortable over the tee shots is key, because any time you play any golf course on the PGA TOUR you have to be playing from the short grass.
And because of that, I feel like I've gone a pretty good job here playing from the fairway. A lot of the contours on the greens allow me to great creative with iron shots coming in and I get to see different types of shots; that being said, I'm able to use my creative side, and whenever I get to use the creative side I'm able to get a little more aggressive and play more freely on the golf course.
I feel like I've always putted and chipped pretty well here around the bent, and any time you get bentgrass greens, feel like I can attack and get that flat stick hot.
Q. Just had a question about the back nine this week. It's pretty unique this week that the four most difficult holes at TPC Boston are all consecutive on numbers 11 through 14, what's your strategy?
PATRICK REED: I was lucky enough to play the back nine today and they are playing long. I mean, they had a decent amount of rain on Sunday here, and then last night it rained pretty hard.
So that being said, I mean, they played like 10, so 11, 12 and 14 played into the wind today, hit hybrid, 4-iron, hybrid, into those holes. That being said, you know that's kind of the hard stretch. So you just have to basically play smart. You can still be aggressive but you have to play smart on those holes. That's a stretch that if you go and play that stretch even par for the week, you're going to earn probably one, maybe two shots on the field, easily, especially over guys that are top of the leaderboard.
So that being said, those are ones that you don't need to go out and try to be really aggressive or overconfident on those holes and try to really attack because they can really bite you. And I think that's the biggest thing is a golf course like this, you have to pick your poison, where to attack, where not to attack, and on those holes, pars on those four holes consistently will actually gain shots on the field.
So you don't have to go out and be a hero and make a bunch of birdies on that stretch. If anything, you need to make sure you play from the fairway and try to minimize the mistakes on that little stretch.
DOUG MILNE: You've been playing a lot of golf. You've just missed one event. Was that a premeditated decision, or did you just get on a roll and want to keep going?
PATRICK REED: For me I've always loved to play. I play a lot of golf tournaments as it is. With having that three-month break, I was really wanting to get back into playing mode.
And so beforehand, we kind of set it up where it was going to go six weeks on, a week off, and hopefully six weeks on again. For us, it was already kind of planned to play that much. The only way I wouldn't have played that much is if I won maybe two or three of them, then I probably would have taken a break and maybe two weeks off.
But you know, I love to play. I love to compete and to kind of come back out and having that much time off, I want to come out and play and get back to kind of what we know what to do and that's to go out and play golf and get in the trenches with the guys and try to win some golf tournaments.
Q. What do you think about these courses that rotate, or would you rather be at the same place every year like Colonial or Doral, or this bouncing back between Liberty, Boston, Liberty, Boston; do you have any preference one way or the other? Obviously the majors bounce around.
PATRICK REED: Honestly to me, it doesn't -- to me, it doesn't really matter if they stay in one spot or if they bounce around. You look at this tournament, for example, you go Boston and Liberty National, two amazing golf courses, and the amazing thing is when the PGA TOUR comes into town, they are always in immaculate shape.
That being said, it gives you kind of different looks, and see how your game travels. You could play one golf course really well but at the same time, you need to learn how to play everywhere, and to be a top player, you have to be able to play on all different surfaces, all different golf course, ones that fit your eye, some that don't.
For me, I don't mind it bouncing around. I actually think it's probably a good idea, especially during Playoffs, especially with how important each week is. You don't want just to have, say, one week the first week, say it sets up perfectly for only long hitters, and/or it sets up perfectly for guys that hit draws or hit fades. You don't want that to be the advantage for each week. You want to have it move around and guys be challenged in all aspects of the game. For me, I don't mind it bouncing around.
DOUG MILNE: I've been out here to where I've seen a lot of players fluctuate with their physical appearance. Just wonder if you found a connection between your physical be condition and mental condition, because obviously you're headed in the right direction with your diet, exercise and so forth. Just wondering how that may positively be impacting your game.
PATRICK REED: I think the biggest thing is because of how much I've played, especially with playing on both tours, PGA TOUR and European Tour, the biggest thing was just get myself, not only feeling well, but also feeling stronger where I could recover faster, and you know, with playing as much as I do, I felt like that's something that I needed to work on to where I can not just last longer, which I've never had an issue of lasting through my stretches, but feel recover fast enough, because sleeping in different beds, sleeping in different time zones, it all kind of adds up to have your body just kind of wanting to naturally break down.
I had to find ways to kind of trick my body into staying at top shape with my golf game year-in and year-out and week-in and week-out, because I think that's the biggest thing in golf is even though we make our own schedule, we play on both tours, there's a lot of long flights I've been taking, and with that being said, I don't want to show up to a week and all of a sudden just feel really stiff or really tired and lethargic. I want to be able to feel like I can go out and have an advantage and feel strong and ready to go each and every week.
DOUG MILNE: Certainly working for you, coming off a Top-10 last week, site of your first TOUR title, the Wyndham Championship, and we hope that carries over for you this week. Appreciate your time as always and wish you the best this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports