Friday 14 March 2014 10:08, UK
Patrick Reed insisted after his victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship that he regards himself as being one of the five best players in the world.
The 23-year-old held his nerve in admirable style to land the biggest title of his fledgling career on Sunday as he emerged a one-shot winner at Doral.
It’s just one of those things, I believe in myself and, especially with how hard I’ve worked, that I’m one of the top five players in the world.
Remarkably the success was his third in his last 14 starts on the PGA Tour, with the Texan having also won the Humana Challenge in January and last year’s Wyndham Championship.
Reed’s triumph lifts him up to 20th in the latest round of world rankings, but the straight-talking youngster claims he still does not view that as a true reflection of his ability.
Speaking after his win in Miami, he said: “It’s just one of those things, I believe in myself and, especially with how hard I’ve worked, that I’m one of the top five players in the world.
“I worked so hard. I’ve won a lot in junior career, did great things in amateur career; was 6&0 in matchplay at NCAAs, won NCAAs two years in a row, got third individually one year and now I have three wins out here on the PGA Tour.
“I just don’t see a lot of guys that have done that, besides Tiger Woods of course and the other legends of the game.
“To come out in a field like this and hold on wire-to-wire like that, I feel like I’ve proven myself.”
Reflecting on his achievement, Reed said that his putting had been the key to success over the revamped Blue Monster layout that proved such a tough venue over the course of the week.
“My putting was just outstanding,” he stated. “Whenever you come to an event very confident about your putting… a lot of the pressure on your full swing comes off your shoulders and around a golf course like this you’ve got to be confident.”
