NASSAU, Bahamas – Patrick Reed knows he won’t have much of the spotlight during Thursday’s noon pairing, but he’s still happy to play the role of supporting actor.
Reed will be alongside Tiger Woods for the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club as Woods makes his first competitive start in more than a year. For Reed, it’s an exciting opportunity.
“I can’t wait,” Reed said Wednesday. “I’m really excited for him, I’m excited for the game of golf to have Tiger back, and to have that honor to be able to play with him in his first competitive round in 16 months, it’s going to be awesome. I’m looking forward to it.”
Hero World Challenge: Articles, photos and videos
Reed has played with Woods on two prior occasions, first at the 2014 Hero World Challenge at Isleworth and again last year for two rounds at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. But he feels their bond strengthened earlier this year at the Ryder Cup, where Woods oversaw a mini-pod that included Reed and Jordan Spieth.
“There’s a lot of times we were out there and we were walking the golf course, just a couple things he would say or I would say that I just felt brought us a little closer together,” Reed said. “I feel like it’s helped in my relationship with Tiger, and we’ll go out there and play some good golf. I want him to go out and get back to a winning form because I want to see it.”
Noble camaraderie from Reed, sure, but when the rubber meets the road, the former Ryder Cup hero still has plans to top his one-time advisor.
“Yeah, I still want to beat him,” Reed said. “I mean, I still want to beat Tiger, and Tiger still wants to beat me. It’s just like everybody out there.”
