MEMPHIS – Good thing Patrick Reed doesn’t fear flying.
The 2018 Masters champion has taken to the skies to the tune of roughly 25,000 miles the past eight weeks – which is the equivalent of flying around the globe once. And get this: He doesn’t get frequent flier miles, as much of his travel is private, but he is not averse to going commercial at times.
So, try this travel itinerary on for size.
Reed flew from the U.S. Open in San Diego on June 20 to his home in Houston where he spent 36 hours. That’s 1,300 miles.
From Houston he went to the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. Add 1,500 miles. Then it was on to Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic the following week. A mere 525 miles. The next week he went from Detroit to New York for a five-day vacation with his family. Add 500 miles to the total.
Then the long flights started to pile up. From New York he flew over the pond to England for the British Open, which was some 3,500 miles. From England he flew to Minnesota for the 3M Open. Tack on 4,000 miles.
In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Reed’s Olympic ship came in when he got the call to replaced Bryson DeChambeau on Team USA for the men’s golf competition after DeChambeau tested positive for COVID and was forced to withdraw. Reed flew home to Houston for 36 hours – that’s another 1,000 miles – then it was Houston to Seattle to Tokyo – chalk up 6,700 more miles.
Patrick Reed watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the men’s golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Friday, July 30, 2021, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan. (Photo by Andy Wong/Associated Press)
Reed, 31, then took a charter from Tokyo to Memphis to play in this week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Add on 6,600 miles.
The guy would have been a Wright brother back in the day.
“Because I’m a worldwide player, because I play on both tours, I kind have gotten used to those long flights,” Reed said Saturday after shooting a 1-under-par 69 at TPC Southwind. “I listen to a lot of music, there’s a lot of hydrating, sleeping and resting as much as you can. The good thing is all the travel is in the states now, so the time zones don’t really get you.
“The main thing when you are that high in elevation is hydrating. The more hydrated you are, the easier it is to recover. And I’ve learned to shut the mind off.”
Seeing as he’s been home for three days total since June 20, one would expect the world No. 15 has plans to get to Houston on Sunday night, find a beach or a monster lounge chair in his backyard patio and just kick back for a few days. Heck, weeks. But this is Reed we’re talking about.
Late this week he decided to add next week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, to his schedule, so that’s where he’s heading Sunday night. The following week it’s back up to New York for the Northern Trust, the kickoff of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The week after that he’s off to Baltimore for the BMW Championship. And if he remains in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings – he’s presently 19th – he’d be off to the season finale, The Tour Championship in Atlanta, the following week.
He’d then head home to Houston. But likely for one week as he’s definitely in the mix to be on the USA Ryder Cup team, so if he makes the team on his own or is a captain’s pick, Captain America would be off to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin for the tussle with Europe after less than a week at home.
If all that plays out, that’s another 4,500 miles in the air.
“I love to compete,” Reed said. “If I wasn’t playing a golf tournament, I’d be at home practicing from 8 a.m. until 5:30 on the range beating balls and doing a ton of short game work. It’s almost harder being at home than me being out playing (on the Tour).”
So it came as no surprise that he added the Wyndham Championship. He won the first of his nine PGA Tour titles in 2013 in the tournament at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina when he beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff.
“It’s such a special place for me,” Reed said. “It normally was on the schedule because I wasn’t going to play the 3M Open and I wasn’t in the Olympics. Because I wasn’t in the Olympics, I added the 3M Open. It was better to play than go home and beat balls. Then I got into the Olympics, so it went from a two-week off thing to a one-week off to just playing through.
“But next week is special. It was our first win. (His wife) Justine was on the bag for me. There have been years I didn’t play it and that just didn’t sit well with me.
“Yes, when you add that event, it adds to a long stretch. But I’m used to playing long stretches. I feel my body can handle it. That’s the biggest thing; if I felt like completely worn down, or the body didn’t feel right, then I’d probably take the week off. But I feel good. And the game is so close. You never know? That week could be where I find the round that flips it around for me.”
Reed, who won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year, has shot 68-69-69 this week and is in the middle of the pack. In his last five PGA Tour starts, he’s missed one cut and had two top-25 finishes.
“The biggest thing right now is focusing on my golf and rallying around some big rounds. Because it’s close,” Reed said. “But the ball for some reason doesn’t like to go into the hole for birdies, it likes to go in the hole for par.”
Well, Reed will keep flying until the ball changes its mind.