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.