Accusations of cheating and stealing have followed Patrick Reed since his college days, and the LIV Golf star has addressed the allegations in the build-up to the Masters
Patrick Reed has rubbished claims of “cheating” and “stealing” during his college golf days, labelling the accusations against him as “BS”.
Reed has announced himself as one of the top players of his generation in recent years, having won nine times on the PGA Tour and three times on the DP World Tour during his career. The highlight came in 2018, when the American was crowned Masters champion at Augusta National.
His career has, however, not come without controversy. The former green jacket winner has often been labelled professional golf’s pantomime villain, especially when it comes to performing on the Ryder Cup stage.
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His reputation began during his time at University of Georgia, after allegations of cheating in a college match and stealing from his teammates were made against Reed in Shane Ryan’s book, ‘Slaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour’.
Rubbishing the claims against him, Reed told Golf.com: “I have no idea where that stuff came from. No idea. Both coaches had signed statements saying ‘no he never stole or cheated ever’. So that stuff to me is BS obviously. I don’t know who [made the accusations].
“It is all these unnamed sources, nobody is actually putting a name to it. So I don’t know why or how something like that came out.” During his college career, Reed left Georgia before going on to join Augusta State, where he helped his team win back-to-back NCAA Division I titles in 2010 and 2011.
Addressing the reasoning behind his decision to leave Georgia for Augusta, Reed went on: “The reason I left UGA was because I was unhappy. And to be honest with you, I am glad I did because if I didn’t then who knows what those next couple of years would have been like.
“When you are unhappy you are unmotivated on a lot of things. So because of that I went to a place that I thought would make me happier and because of that I worked harder and was able to get to the level I really wanted to be at and that is out here.” Reed’s attention this week will once again lie in Augusta as he chases down his second green jacket.
The American heads into the event with an impressive record at the iconic Georgia-based major championship, having finished in the top-10 on three of the five occasions since his 2018 victory, including a tied-fourth finish 12 months ago. The 4Aces star is one of 13 LIV Golf players competing in this year’s Masters
