DETROIT – Team Reed is a close-knit group. It includes wife Justine and brother-in-law Kessler Karain, Patrick’s sidekick on the bag since early 2014. The role of swing instructor continues to be a case of musical chairs. And it changed again before the U.S. Open earlier this month.
Kevin Kirk, the 2019 PGA Teacher of the Year, has been Reed’s longtime coach and guided his star pupil to victory at the 2018 Masters. In March 2019, Justine called noted instructor David Leadbetter ahead of the Valspar Championship looking for a second set of eyes to help her hubby break out of a mini-slump. Before long, Leadbetter was part of the team.
“I would see him here and there but it would often be a fix for what was happening in that day,” Leadbetter wrote on his personal web site. “There was never really a plan in place. I always thought he would be an interesting player to work with.”
Leadbetter took the lead role last summer, with Kirk taking a backseat.
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“Remarkably, considering the success that he has had, he has never been in the top 100 in fairways hit or greens in regulation. His great short game has enabled him to compete at the highest level,” Leadbetter wrote. “I always thought that if we could get his long game anywhere close to the quality of his short game, the sky was the limit as far as what he could achieve. So, it was definitely a challenge that excited me.”
Reed recorded a victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in February and finished in the top 20 in the last three majors, but Leadbetter suffered a foot injury that has limited Reed’s ability to work with him on the road.
“He still can’t travel, his foot is still beat up and in a boot. It’s hard doing a lot of things over a telephone,” Reed explained, noting that Leadbetter has shifted into a “consulting role.” “Really never left KK. But I got back with him full-time right before the U.S. Open. Lead, KK and I, we all attack it together.”
And for those scoring at home, there’s actually two more members of Team Reed: Dave Pelz serves as a short-game mentor and Reed’s college coach, Josh Gregory, is listed as Reed’s performance coach. That’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but it works for Reed, who enters the week ranked No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I feel like the game’s really strong,” Reed said. “I feel like I’m playing really solid, hitting the ball well, so on the golf side I feel like we’re in good form leading into the week.”
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