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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 23, 2008

Patrick Reed

PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA

DAVE FANNUCHI: Once again, we have our other semi-finalist here Patrick Reed for the media. Patrick, let's get started. Your initial thoughts 3 and 2 defeat to Danny Lee. How did you play today and what was the critical part of the match?
PATRICK REED: Honestly I played a decent round. I started off a lot better than I did yesterday, I gave myself a lot of chances and I made him make birdies to beat me.
And he started off making a great putt on 3, made birdie to go 1-up. Then, I mean, from there I just tried to chip away after I got 2-down and got it back to one. And had two loose swings all day. I mean, so I hit the ball decently, probably even better than all week and I made a couple putts. It was just he made more. That's all. That's basically what it came down to.
DAVE FANNUCHI: Sum up your week. Again as we talked yesterday, you were right on the cut line at plus four just to get into match play so you got to be pretty proud of yourself to get this far.
PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah, especially when it's the first time making match play in this tournament. And I was playing, I really wasn't hitting the ball that well at all for the whole first two days and then started getting better every day.
I just love to see myself improve every day, a little bit every day and today especially today I hit the ball, I hit every fairway almost and may have hit almost every green and made him actually look at my golf ball at times because he was hitting his drivers a tad farther than me all day it was just he didn't crack. And when he did, then I took advantage of it, but then he made a clutch putt on 15 to go 2-up with 3 to play and I just couldn't catch him.
DAVE FANNUCHI: Talk about your father, what he's meant to you this week on the bag and I guess he ran out of gas around the back nine here and you actually had an opponent of yours earlier in the week Brady Exber jump on the bag to finish caddieing for you the rest of the round.
PATRICK REED: Right. Well, I love having my dad on the bag. Last year we didn't have a great year on the bag together and this year we had a great time. And I mean if it wasn't for the blisters he would have been there all the way through 16. It's just, I mean after his blisters, he tried as hard as he could and just couldn't make it. I didn't want him to force it, so luckily Brady, great guy, great gentleman, actually offered to help us out.
He offered to come caddie for me for the last couple holes and he was itching to get on that bag. And dad was just like, you know, my heels are just killing me, I'm like, all right, so enough was enough and we got someone else in there. Without my dad though on the bag this whole week there's no way I would have gotten all the way hear to the semis.
DAVE FANNUCHI: Sure. And just talk about what you guys you and Brady developed a friendship.
PATRICK REED: Oh, yeah. Brady and I we had a great time and even when we played each other we were all jokes, all having a great time, smiling, laughing together, it was just -- I mean I happened to come on top when I played him, it's just I like would like to have him on the bag again and I hope it just keeps ongoing later in life where we still have that friendship.
DAVE FANNUCHI: Great. Questions?

Q. Patrick, you mentioned the putt that he made on 15, but you think maybe 14 was the critical juncture? You're in the middle of the fairway, he had to lay up, you didn't get it on the green and subsequently halved the hole. That might have been a missed chance to get back to square.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, it was a good chance to get back to square. I mean, but I didn't make the putt as you saw, but whenever, I mean even if he didn't have that situation, I had a 2-footer on the next hole to make par and he had to look at it and knew I was going to make a two-footer. It was just, he was clutch enough to make the 18-footer.
And I had that practiced that putt during practice round and that putt it looks like it goes left but actually goes back to the right and he read it perfectly.
Yeah, it probably would have been a little different I probably would have gotten to 17 if I didn't make, if, if I um made par on 14, but, hey, he played very solid, played very steady and he did a great performance again. I mean he's kept it for a couple weeks straight and he's a great player.

Q. I was wondering if there was a particular part of his game watching him obviously playing against him today that impressed you?
PATRICK REED: Honestly, I thought I hit my driver just as well as him, I thought I hit my irons just as well as him, he just made more putts than I did.
The putt on 3 he had down the hill, I mean he had to be very delicate with it, dead center. I hit a good putt there, I hit the lip, it just didn't go in. It was just one of those days.

Q. Can you talk about that putt on 16? It looked kind of awkward.
PATRICK REED: Yeah. Tell me about it.
(Laughter.)
I was, I thought that it did exactly what it did two days ago when I played Detweiler. I pulled it just a little bit, but I ended up just barely off the green where I had a normal stance and an I ended up where I had to have both my feet completely in front of the ball and hit it left or try to do something where I had one foot in, one foot out and try to basically belly putter it.
And, I mean, luckily he had to go first so I got to see what I had to do, so I knew I had to make par, so I just thought that would have been the best option for me actually make par, so. I just didn't make the 6-footer coming back.

Q. Just summarize the whole week. As far as from the time you got here and what are you going to take out of this week?
PATRICK REED: I definitely found out myself that you just have to stay patient with the game. Especially today whenever Danny got up on me, especially today, he was up early, I just stayed patient with it and as it came down towards the end you just, I mean I had a chance to fight back.
It's just, on 14 I didn't capitalize on it to get it back to square, but I mean, if I just stay more patient and believe more in my chipping and short game, I mean I have a great chance at it later in life.

Q. Hole 7 you had a couple-footer for par to remain all square, you went 2-down. Was that a big turning point because I don't know what the lie was like, but it looked like you kind of rushed that putt a little bit.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, exactly. It wasn't a turning point it was just I got quick with it, I mean it was two and a half feet and just I mean during the rounds during normal stroke play I had actually finished that out before and marked it. Didn't want to think about it a lot, stepped up, quick hit it and totally shoved the thing. Didn't even touch the hole. It was ugly.
But, I mean, besides that, besides that 3-putt there, and the loose swing on 14, I thought I played a very solid round. The putt on 6 was very tough putt, I 2-putted from where I was, but gave myself a chance to actually have an 8-footer for par.
DAVE FANNUCHI: Thanks very much Patrick. Congratulations on a great week.
PATRICK REED: Thanks.

End of FastScripts

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