13 hours Ago By Alex Conrad
Patrick Reed and controversy have gone hand-in-hand throughout his career. Reed was booted off the University of Georgia's golf team for multiple alcohol violations and possession of a fake ID. He was also suspected by his former teammates of stealing $400, a putter and a watch from their locker room but denied the allegations.
Reed was also questioned by his Georgia teammates of improving the lie of his ball at one event but again denied any such claims. Not even a move to Augusta State could keep controversies away from Reed's door, so much so that his teammates voted to scratch him from the team. However, Augusta's coach decided to keep Reed and he went on to lead the team to two national titles.
The divisive acts did not stop once he turned professional, with one in particular proving particularly grating for some of the other stars on the tour. During the 2019 Hero World Classic, which took place shortly before that year's Presidents Cup, Reed was caught on TV appearing to improve the lie of his ball on two separate occasions while in the bunker. He felt the angle of the TV cameras made his act look worse than it was, but he still copped a two-stroke penalty for the indiscretion.
However, it left more than just a sour taste in the mouth of some who also competed in the event. Australian star Cameron Smith, who was set to be a part of the International team at the Presidents Cup, tore into Reed. Smith also called for the crowd at the Presidents Cup, which would be held that year at the Royal Melbourne Golf Course in Australia, to let Reed know what they thought of him.
"To give a bit of a bull**** response like the camera angle, that's pretty up there," Smith said in 2019. "I don't have any sympathy for anyone that cheats. I hope the crowd absolutely gives it to not only him but everyone next week.
" Smith got his wish as the Australian crowd tore into Reed at every opportunity. So severe was the heckling, Reed was assigned armed police to walk the course alongside him to prevent any situations from getting out of hand. But not even the police could stop Reed's caddie, Kessler Karain, from dealing with one rowdy spectator.
Reed and his partner Webb Simpson had just lost their four-ball match to Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan.
As Reed and Karain, who is the former's brother-in-law, drove away in a cart, one fan told the U.S. player: "You f****** suck.
" It tipped Karain over the edge as he got out of the cart and shoved the crowd member. In a statement to ESPN , Karain defended his actions and felt the crowd in Melbourne had crossed the line with their heckles. "As a caddie, one of your jobs is to protect your player," Karain said.
"And unlike several other sports, in golf fans can get pretty close to athletes. We have been known for having fun with some good banter, but after hearing several fans in Australia for three days some had taken it too far, I had enough. And this gentleman was one of them.
"I got off the cart and shoved him, said a couple things, probably a few expletives. Security came and I got back [in] the cart and left. I don't think there's one caddie I know that could blame me.
" Karain was subsequently banned for the final day of the Presidents Cup, but luckily for the U.S. team it did not derail their tournament as they scraped a 16-14 win over the International team.
The 2019 Presidents Cup is also the last one Reed has played in after he defected to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf in 2022. The PGA Tour , which oversees the Presidents Cup, banned all players who moved to LIV from competing in their events. Reed could return to the Presidents Cup if the mooted merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf comes to fruition and allows all to play in the biannual tournament.
But if 2019 is to be his last for the remainder of his career, it will forever be tainted by the memory of his brother-in-law getting physical with a supporter..
