Patrick Reed was a man with something to prove on Sunday, winning the WGC-Mexico Championship by one-stroke over Bryson DeChambeau.
The 29-year-old was able to block out his critics this week, mainly fellow player Brooks Koepka, to battle through Sunday and earn his 8th PGA Tour win. Earlier in the week Koepka called out Reed for what he believes was obvious cheating at the Hero World Challenge back in December.
When asked about the incident, that saw Reed handed a two-stroke penalty, and if Koepka thought Reed was a cheater, the former was brutally honest.
“Uh, yeah. I think, yeah, yeah. I mean, I don’t know what he was doing, building sand castles in the sand but, you know, you know where your club is. I mean, I took three months off and I can promise you I know if I touched sand,” Koepka told SiriusXM last week.
Adding, “It’s one of those things where you know, if you look at the video obviously he grazes the sand twice and then he still chops down on it.”
Reed obviously heard the criticism, much like he’s heard the chants of “cheater” during recent tournaments, but the American was able to take the negative narrative and use it to his advantage on Sunday. He was a man on a mission. Armed with an extremely hot putter, Reed blasted his way through the final round at Club de Golf Chapultepec. Owning the back-nine with birdies on the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes to move to the top of the leaderboard.
“I felt like I had something to prove to myself coming into this week, because I feel like I’ve been playing some really solid golf and just haven’t quite gotten over that hump to get the W,” Reed told reporters afterwards.
Whether you love him or loathe him, no one can deny he earned this win.
“He deserves it,” said DeChambeau, who came in second and came back out to the 18th green to congratulate the winner. “He fought really hard and ultimately beat me.”
Here’s a look at Reed’s winning bag:
Driver: Ping G400
Fairway Wood:
Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero
Hybrid:
Callaway Apex Hybrid
Irons: Grindworks Patrick Reed Prototype
Wedges:
Titleist Vokey Design SM7;
Titleist Vokey Design SM8
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Rat I
Ball:
Titleist Pro V1
