TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 2, 2021

Patrick Reed

East Lake Golf Club

Quick Quotes

PATRICK REED: Will text when starting. This is Patrick Reed.

Q. How did it feel having not played for 25 days? How was your energy?

PATRICK REED: My energy was okay. My speed is not there yet, obviously. Where I really notice it is kind of on iron shots and on setting up and having to hit an exact number, it just seemed to be a hair off.

But the good thing is my short game didn't leave me. My short game was pretty good today. The one that I didn't get up-and-down was kind of a basic chip, which obviously to my old ways, a basic chip got me.

But no, as a whole, I feel optimistic, obviously with the way I finished, getting through 18 and not feeling like my health is hindering me. I think that was the biggest thing today is being first time playing 18 holes, how am I going to feel, how are my lungs going to feel. I know there's going to be some ups and downs on the golf course because I haven't played in a while, but I feel like the health, my lungs and my health hung in there today.

I look forward to, I'm just getting stronger every day. I look forward to tomorrow going out and hopefully continuing to hitting fairways. And I hit ten fairways today and if I continue doing that and playing from the short grass out here, we're going to start dialing in the irons and keep the short game sharp and make some putts.

Q. Can you give us a time line of your health? I mean, first of all, there was a report that you had COVID, but I couldn't really detect that from your statement.

PATRICK REED: Yeah. When I was, the statement came from the doctors and my team, to tell me exactly what I had. But I had bilateral pneumonia in both lungs, and that's what they were treating me in the hospital. And it was scary because it was in my lower lobes, which is where, a lot of deaths and people pass away from. So they were really monitoring that, and really the biggest thing is just continuing doing my breathing exercises and try to clear out my, really my left lung as much as possible, which it's improving, but we still, they gave me the go-ahead to fly and be at cabin pressure starting Monday.

So to be able to fly and for them to kind of allow me to be here and to play is obviously meaning I'm going the right direction. Now, I would think once I get back with this week, I go to the doctors and just kind of see where I'm at, but the way everyone on my team kind of makes it sound is once this week's over, I'm full go to be able to do exactly what I want.

Q. Were you ever diagnosed with COVID after the bilateral pneumonia?

PATRICK REED: They never tested me. I don't know.

Q. They never tested you?

PATRICK REED: No. I obviously I got tested when I was leaving and I tested negative. So that's always a positive. But, and really when I went into the ER and with the scans and everything they have done, did on my lungs and everything, their main priority was to make sure that we fought this pneumonia in both lungs because of how fatal it can be.

Q. (No Microphone.)

PATRICK REED: I went in Thursday of Northern Trust. I was in there for, it felt like I was in there forever. I think I was in there for five or six days. I don't know exactly how long. I don't remember the exact timeframe I was actually in the hospital, but it felt like an eternity.

Q. Was there ever a point in the hospital when you or any of your doctors or anybody felt that it might be as serious as death?

PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah. No, first couple days they were sitting there telling me that make sure you text your family quite a bit, talk to your family, because you just don't know. I mean, this is not good. We're not in a good spot right now.

With how the hospitals are these days because of COVID and everything that's going on, it doesn't matter what's going on. They won't allow people in there, so it's only you in there. So I'm sitting there and those first two days the only thing that was going through my mind is, I'm not going to be able to tell my kids goodbye. I'm not going to be able to tell them I love them. I'm not going to be able to tell my wife that I love her and give her a hug.

Q. Even Justine couldn't get in?

PATRICK REED: No one. And so that, it definitely puts you in a dark space when you're in there, especially those first two days. But I'm so happy to have such an amazing team and such amazing doctors that were working with me to get me through it and to get me working in the right direction on the way up. And to think that I'm able to be here and play and really feel like today, I really felt okay. I mean, it's a little frustrating not having the speed, not being able to hit the shots and really feel certain things quite yet, but I took a ton of time off. I mean, I was battling for my life. I was in the hospital. And the good thing is now I can hit the ground running hopefully.

Q. Did it come on suddenly?

PATRICK REED: Was it unsettling?

Q. Did it come on suddenly?

PATRICK REED: It did. It hit me just like a brick. I mean, just all of a sudden I went from feeling okay to literally feeling like I couldn't breathe and was almost drowning in air and it was, it hit me so fast and it was so brutal.

Q. Would you be here if this wasn't a Ryder Cup year?

PATRICK REED: No.

Q. Have you had any correspondence with Captain Stricker?

PATRICK REED: I saw him yesterday. He came out to me when I was on 9 and I hit a hybrid into 9 to 8 feet and I made the putt for him. So you know, honestly, the biggest thing is, talking with Stricks and stuff, is just making sure I'm healthy and I think the biggest thing for me this week is just to see kind of where I'm at. And I know by Ryder Cup my game's going to be where it needs to be, as long as I feel like my health is where it needs to be and as long as I feel like I can sustain through rounds of golf. Yesterday was the first time playing nine holes since, wow, Memphis, yeah. That would have been first time playing nine holes since Memphis. Then today was first time playing 18. It's like my third day back swinging a golf club. So there's going to be rough there, there's going to be things that you want to obviously not do on the golf course, but the great thing is I felt like I can play now, I feel like I can do what I'm supposed to do. I feel now it's just get some reps in and just get the energy level and strength back which just takes a little bit of time, a little reps, a little practice.

Q. When did you start hitting balls?

PATRICK REED: So Monday morning I went out and practiced for the first time with a full swing, first time actually touching a golf club Monday, then Tuesday we drove all day here and then yesterday was nine holes.

Q. (No Microphone.)

PATRICK REED: Monitoring oxygen level because of my lungs and that's the biggest thing is my lungs.