Shanghai: Double Masters champion Bubba Watson revealed he put a comforting arm round American Patrick Reed’s shoulder before shooting a sparkling second-round 67 on Friday at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Ryder Cup star Reed found himself a victim of trial by television as his foul-mouthed tirade, directed at himself, was picked up by microphones and broadcast around the world.
Watson said, after moving into a third place share behind leader Graeme McDowell by finishing with five straight birdies, that Reed had come to his hotel room on Thursday night.
“He came to me last night and said, ‘Hey, I did something bad’,” Watson said. “I said, ‘What did you do?’ So he showed me the clip on his phone. I said, ‘Yeah, that’s not good. That’s not good, man’.”
The video showed Reed missing a short putt on his 10th hole Thursday before making an obscene comment.
Watson, who turned 36 on Wednesday, had every sympathy for Reed, who is 11 years his junior.
“I said, ‘Well, we always learn something out of every situation’,” Watson added.
“That’s how you become a better man, and that’s what I told him. And it’s the same thing with me. I bet sometime before I pass away, unless I pass away tonight, I’m going to mess up again.
“I said, tell everybody you’re sorry and move on and hopefully everybody will forgive you over time.”
Reed shot 73 on Friday to be level par for the tournament and told reporters that he couldn’t actually recall making the outburst.
“Today I felt like I handled myself pretty well, yesterday I did not,” Reed said. “I was so in the moment I don’t remember saying it. I remember being upset of course.
“Yesterday I made a stupid error that’s for sure and definitely I’m sorry for the words I said.”
He said that the TV microphones are sensitive but that was no excuse. “We all know there’s microphones out there, you have to know how to control and handle your emotions.
“You know I live and die through every shot. It’s one of those things I have to learn how to deal with.”
Reed’s playing partner McDowell scorched to a second successive 67 to get to 10-under to lead the tournament by three shots from England’s Ian Poulter (67), with Watson and Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata tied for third a shot further back.
McDowell said he hadn’t heard Reed on Thursday. “I was at the other end of the green so I didn’t hear it,” he said.
“We all joke that golf’s a four-letter word. And there’s a lot of four-letter words involved when you play,” McDowell said.
“I don’t blame Patrick for using a profanity, obviously it was just unfortunately a poor choice of words. He used one word which is politically incorrect and here we are.”
The US PGA Tour issued a short statement which read: “The PGA Tour’s Conduct Unbecoming regulations prohibit the use of obscene language on the golf course. The PGA Tour will deal with this matter internally in accordance with its regulations.”
