If absence makes the heart grow fonder, logic could follow that Reed's time on LIV Golf has helped repair his image with U.S. fans. Now that he's high on the 2026 Masters leaderboard, it's interesting to reread his sitdown interview with Golf Digest from 2021 when he addressed cheating accusations, critics, the world. I had asked him, "Some people say that you thrive off negative energy, even need it to play well. Any truth to that?" As decorous as Augusta galleries always are, it might be a relevant question he answers again this weekend.
Have we forgotten what Patrick Reed is about?
Nice to see two positive and unrelated developments for the great Jack Nicklaus, 86,
coming over the transom on the 40th anniversary of his win in ‘86. Announced today: he’ll be in the broadcast booth alongside Terry Gannon on Amazon Prime’s new coverage of Amen Corner. Last Friday it came out that an investment group led by Jack Nicklaus—20 Majors—had bought back all the assets related to his ongoing legal battle against the company he founded. Golf Digest is working on a deeper analysis of this resolution that seemingly ends the mess, so watch this space. For background, this was the definitive piece that explained it all in 2023.