7 time PGA Tour winner and Master’s champion Patrick Reed speaks to the media following his final round at the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui, Hawaii.
Q. Patrick, you shoot 7-under par, that was the low round of the day. You gave yourself a chance. Is that satisfying even though you’ve lost in this playoff?
PATRICK REED: It’s all about winning. At the end of the day, I knew what I had to do today. I went out and had to go shoot a low number, especially with how windy it was today, to give myself an opportunity, and I did. Unfortunately I had two putts really to close it, and one of them I got gusted on, and then this last one with the wind and the break, just got me again.
Q. You knocked it on the front edge, we all expected you to (indiscernible).
PATRICK REED: Yeah, the thing is (indiscernible) right in the middle of it and I thought I landed it high enough, and (indiscernible) it almost was easier from farther right where you didn’t have that big ridge.
Q. You played so well all day long. You’re such a competitor. I know this is a disappointment. Tell me about the putts in the afternoon here.
PATRICK REED: Really the first one with the eagle I hit it exactly where I wanted to, it just happened to not break enough. And then the second one, the wind picked up right where we hit it and it made the ball stay straighter because it was more downwind and it actually didn’t break at all. And then the last one I needed to make that one to tie and obviously continue for an extra hole, and right after I hit it a gust came and the ball ended up missing by a cup and it was actually outside his mark. That was the thing about today; you knew especially really the last three days that the wind was going to be a factor on putts, and unfortunately it came down to having to make too long a putt in order to either extend or to win, and at the end of the day when you have that long putt and you have the wind, it just makes it a little harder.
Q. What do you take out of today?
PATRICK REED: It was a solid day. I was 8-under through 21 holes, so it was great golf as a whole. But I mean, of course it stings at the end whenever you don’t birdie for the win. But really I gave myself an opportunity. I put myself in position to have a chance, and I needed a little bit of help at the end there, and they gave it to me, allowing me to even get in the playoff.
Q. Did you think you had any chance when you finished?
PATRICK REED: I didn’t. I was staying just because I had to. If all of a sudden you leave, that’s the one time I would actually have an opportunity. But I didn’t think I was going to have an opportunity to even be in a playoff. That was a gift there towards the end to even give me an opportunity. I had a shot, though. I birdied the first one and got bested on the next two putts. Unfortunately from that point it just wasn’t meant to be.
Q. What do you take away from this week?
PATRICK REED: A grind in the bad weather. It’s easy to stay comfortable with your golf swing, stay comfortable with your putting stroke whenever it’s calm outside, but when the wind starts to blow are you able to stay in pattern and are you able to make putts and get up-and-down, and I felt like I was able to do that all week, and I was really able to bounce back after being 3-over through 7 the first day and to be able to have a chance to win a golf tournament means a lot.
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
January 5, 2020
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports