SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. _ Masters champion Patrick Reed is a pretty no-nonsense guy. His 3-over-par 73 on Thursday, in the first round of the U.S. Open on a day when the scoring average exceeded 76, didn't bring a sense of satisfaction, or a smile.
But it certainly put him in the mix.
When asked about the round, Reed said, "Not good. I mean, missed four fairways on holes that were pretty wide, and missed five greens from either a fairway or a tee box, which you can't do around here, and missed 10 putts that are makeable putts out there. So, you know, I mean, honestly felt like it was probably the worst round I could have shot with how today went. I need to clean it up and get my act together, start playing golf."
There were some minor complaints from players about pin positions and inconsistent speeds on the greens, but Reed wasn't having any of that either.
"The setup was fine," Reed said. "I mean, I didn't think there was a hole where that was set up unfair or anything like that. I felt like the pin placements were fine. You had to hit quality golf shots. They set up the golf course like a U.S. Open, like it should be. If you hit a great shot, you're going to be rewarded. If you don't, you're going to struggle."
When asked if he was glad he hadn't shot a score that would have taken him out of contention, the response was blunt and to the point.
"Not really. I don't have really good days like that. I always go in and try to shoot under par and shoot the lowest round I can," he said. "I don't go out, and just because it's really windy, thinking 'OK, if I hit the fairways, hit the middle of the greens,' that's not how I can think."
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