ORLANDO, FLORIDA // The Roadrunner had Wile E Coyote, James Bond had Blofeld, Rocky Balboa had Apollo Creed.
The ancient battle between yin and yang propels stories along, especially when one of the participants is clearly the protagonist, the man in the black hat.
Some might paint golf’s latest lightning rod, rising American star Patrick Reed, as the sport’s newest villain. Not to worry, since he would surely use it as motivational fuel.
Reed, who has four victories since late 2013 and climbed to No 15 in the world, has tweaked some noses along the way while creating a series of unflattering stories and catcalls from fans along the way.
It has affected him not one iota. In fact, it seems to have had the opposite effect.
Last weekend, outside Tampa, Reed finished joint-second after losing in a three-man play-off to Jordan Spieth, narrowly missing his second win of the year despite being embroiled in yet another controversy off the course.
Reed’s name had appeared often in social media during the week, the result of a questionable campaign to reshape his reputation.
Given the way he has used bombast and criticism to fuel his fires, why does he bother?
Bad publicity has generally resulted in lower scores.
Reed first raised eyebrows last March when he said he considers himself among the top five players in the game. Behind his back he is derisively called “Top Five” by some PGA Tour players and caddies.
Despite stories detailing how he was asked to leave the golf team at the University of Georgia, and how he cheated on his scorecard and stole from teammates, the increasingly self-confident Reed continues to improve.
With controversial figures such as Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods slowing down, Reed has become the game’s biggest talking point, right reasons or wrong.
“He’s kind of grown on me a little bit, to tell you the truth,” said Matt Every, the defending champion at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. “He does his own thing. There’s nothing big about him. Whether he tells the truth or not, whatever, it seems like he doesn’t care.
“And if he genuinely doesn’t care, then more power to him.”
He does care. Reed, 24, last week claimed during a Golf Channel interview that portions of a forthcoming book about the PGA Tour inaccurately characterised his college years, assertions he said he could refute with affidavits from former coaches. Upon closer inspection, the statements were not affidavits at all, and Reed did not disprove anything that has been written about his college years, where he was so alienated from his teammates, they supported his opponents.
Confident to the point of being cocky, Reed drew attention last fall in the Ryder Cup, when he courted the attention of partisan Scottish fans by putting a finger to his lips to shush the crowd during an early match.
Outside of colourful Englishman Ian Poulter, who seems to revel in controversy and noise, Reed can turn bad vibes into birdies like few other players.
“There’s something special about him for sure,” Every said.
His peers have marvelled at his ability to thrive.
“I can’t tell you, personally, how it’s going with Patrick or anything, but obviously, professionally, what he does on the golf course you can say has been pretty impressive if what’s going on has been bothering him,” 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel said.
Based on Reed’s play, it might bother him, but it sure has not affected him.
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