Patrick Reed: Next American Golf Star

Patrick Reed burst onto golf’s grandest stage last year with his two PGA Tour victories and his stellar play at the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles. Most notably, Reed became the youngest golfer to ever win a World Golf Championship after he emerged victorious at last year’s WGC Cadillac Championship, out-competing an elite field that consisted of the top-50 golfers in the world.

He’s confident and he certainly has game. After winning at Doral last year, Reed certainly wasn’t shy in an NBC interview when he remarked that he saw himself as a top-five player.

“I just don’t see a lot of guys that have done that, besides Tiger Woods, of course, and, you know, the other legends of the game. It’s just one of those things, I believe in myself and – especially with how hard I’ve worked – I’m one of the top five players in the world.”

But what makes Reed an exceptional golfer is his ability to deliver when he’s under pressure. He embraces tense atmospheres and it seems as though he performs his best when the heat is on. Reed’s first victory came in a playoff at the 2013 Wyndham Championship, and he drained a seven foot putt on the second playoff hole to beat Jordan Spieth. He also didn’t seem fazed by the presence of golf’s top stars when he won the Cadillac Championship. And Reed earned his latest victory at the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua in a playoff against Jimmy Walker.

Not to mention, Patrick Reed also wears a red polo, black khakis, and dons a black hat on Sundays, and when he stood over an 18-foot putt on the final green at Kapalua just two weeks ago and knocked the ball in the center of the cup for the win, it was all very reminiscent of a certain 14 time major champion who was unbeatable on Sundays.

So all this brings up a question: Is Patrick Reed the next American golfing star? Or is it still too early to jump to any conclusions or make any comparisons with the likes of Tiger?

Reed certainly has talent, no doubt about it, and the fact that two of his four career victories have come in playoffs shows that he handles pressure well. As of now, Patrick Reed is 15th in the World Golf Rankings, not so far away from being within the ranks of the top-five.

And with his most recent victory, the twenty-four year old Reed is now only one of four golfers who has won four times on the PGA Tour before the age of 25. The other three players are Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Sergio Garcia. Talk about some good company.

If Reed continues his stellar play he will certainly have a fast and promising start to his young career, and undoubtedly have the potential to become the next American golfing star if he hasn’t earned that title already.