World No 20 Patrick Reed hails charge of golf's young brigade ahead of Hong Kong Open
The 25-year-old American believes the global game is changing for the better as he prepares for his debut this week against the likes of Justin Rose at Fanling
Much has been made of the changing of the guard golf has gone through over the past 12 months and world number 20 Patrick Reed believes the game is better off for it.
“The younger guys are filling the shoes of the older guys and it’s great to be part of it,” said the 25-year-old American.
The game is now being led by the likes of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day and Rory McIlroy – aged 22, 27 and 26, respectively – and Reed believes they are helping spread its global reach.
“It’s all about the growth of the game and making the game as big as it can possibly be, not only in the States not only in the European Tour, but just around the world in general,” he said.
It’s all about the growth of the game and making the game as big as it can possibly be, not only in the States not only in the European Tour but just around the world in general
Taking up cards this season with the US PGA Tour and the European Tour was always the plan at some stage of his career, explained the San Antonio-born golfer.
“I have always wanted to play a lot of golf,” he said. “It has been one of my things because I firmly believe that if you are going to play good golf you need to play golf in all different places of the world, because the golf courses change completely, conditions change, grass changes. You keep learning.”
Reed comes to Hong Kong after a week’s rest and recuperation at home following the Presidents Cup and he says he will arrive in Hong Kong with guns blazing.
“I will say I think I will bring some fire, some excitement to Hong Kong,” he says. “Hopefully they will see how passionate I am about the game, how determined I am to play well. Hopefully I will give them a good show this week and I will come down on Sunday afternoon and have put myself in a position to hold up the trophy.”
The American comes to town with an eye on the Race to Dubai – he currently sits 40th, with the top 60 qualifying – and following a season that saw him win the PGA-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
“This year, I’ve worked so hard to be more consistent and manage my game a little better,” said Reed. “It seems to really be working. I’ve missed so far two cuts all the year. I’ve played some really solid golf. In a lot of tournaments I’ve turned a lot of mediocre weeks in top 25s and I’ve turned some top 25s to top 10s where if I played how I had been playing before, it would have gone in the opposite direction.
“That just shows that I’ve grown more as a player and understand my game more. I don’t have to play as aggressively as I normally used to play, I can just play within myself and still get the results that I want.”
