WGC’s move from Mexico to Bradenton will shine spotlight on Concession Golf Club

The PGA Tour World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, to be played at the Concession Golf Club Feb. 25-28, will draw much attention.

SARASOTA, Fla. — What the huge international golf tournament coming to eastern Manatee County at the end of the month lacks in physical spectators it will more than make up in television viewers, according to the head of the Bradenton area visitors bureau.

The annual PGA Tour World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, at The Concession Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Feb. 25-28, won’t have a huge in-person audience. The only people allowed on-site to watch will be event sponsors and people affiliated with the athletes.

But millions of people worldwide are expected to watch from home.

The Golf Channel will carry the tournament Feb. 25-26, and PGA Tour Live and NBC Sports will pick up coverage Feb. 27-28. NBC will sell its platform internationally, meaning the tournament will be broadcast in 120 countries and 800 million households worldwide.

“The demographic viewership aligns perfectly with our target market,” Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told members of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council at the board’s Monday meeting.

Falcione asked the council to recommend that Manatee County commissioners allocate $250,000 of tourist development tax funds toward the tournament, which will be used to promote the area on screen with signs and shots of the destination’s many amenities to cut in between putts and commercials.

The motion to do so, by Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant, was approved unanimously by the council and now will go to Manatee County commissioners for approval.

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“I think this is what we’re here for,” Bryant said.

Normally, an event of this size would draw about 12,000 on-site spectators. But broadcasting this event around the world will be further evidence that the Sarasota-Bradenton area can host more major sporting events, Falcione said.

The area has hosted several high-profile events, including the 2017 World Rowing Championships, the 2018 World Rowing Masters Regatta and the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, all at Nathan Benderson Park.

The park, on the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties, is also set to host the International Dragon Boat Federation’s Club Crew World Championships in 2022, which could feature roughly 7,000 athletes and 14,000 spectators.

The Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic will be played the week before the Mexico Championship across the street from The Concession Lakewood National Golf Club.

“The one thing about getting a world caliber event is this will brand not only The Concession as a world championship golf course, but it will also brand our region. … and show another event this region is capable of hosting,” he said.

The WGC-Mexico Championship was moved to the U.S. this year because of COVID-19 concerns. The final roster of players will not be available until shortly before the event, Falcione said, but last year’s winner was Patrick Reed, and competitors included Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.

Golfers such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have won the tournament in past years.

Introducing the area to potential travelers is especially important now, as local tourism data indicate growing interest in travel.

Information from Research Data Services, a Tampa-based data analytics service provider, shows that people are looking forward to going on vacation in 2021. They’ve started to make statements like “I’m going on vacation this summer,” something no one surveyed has really said at all since COVID-19 started, Anne Wittine, director of data analysis for Research Data Services, said.

Wittine told the tourism development council that potential travelers have started to bring up the vaccine when they’re asked about planning trips.

“One person categorized themselves as a caged animal, and another as a horse at the starting gate, who’s nervous, but ready to get out,” she said.

While interest in attractions and destinations known for big crowds has waned since COVID-19 hit, interest in outdoor activities like hiking and going to the beach has grown, Wittine said. That bodes well for Manatee County, she said.

Hotel occupancy was 57.3 percent in 2020, down 18.4 percent from 70.2 percent in 2019. The average daily room rate fell by 5.6 percent from $172.90 in 2019 to $163.18 last year. Revenue per available room fell by 22.4 percent from $124.20 to $96.38, Research Data Services data show.

Floridians made up a large share of Manatee County’s tourism base in 2020, as people stayed closer to home if they did decide to book a quick getaway. The number of visitors from Florida to Manatee County increased by 58.1 percent last year, Wittine said. But in December, 49 percent of visitors to the area were from out-of-state.

“Out-of-state markets are starting to come back. That’s an encouraging sign,” she said.

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Golfweek Rewind: Determining Tiger’s next events, Mickey Wright remembered

Where will Tiger Woods play next? What does Rory McIlroy think of the Premier Golf League? JuliaKate Culpepper discusses on Golfweek Rewind.

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Tiger Woods reveals if he’ll play in the Honda Classic, Rory McIlroy shares his opinion on the Premier Golf League and we remember Mickey Wright after her death.

Take a look at the week’s top stories on the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind.

Top stories

Tiger Woods is skipping the Honda Classic, marking the second-straight week the 15-time major champion won’t compete. Woods also did not play in the WGC-Mexico Championship, citing back stiffness that bothered him throughout the Genesis Invitational. It is unknown what events Woods will play before the Masters Tournament in April.

Rory McIlroy isn’t sold on the Premiere Golf League. Ahead of the WGC-Mexico Championship, McIlroy revealed he has thought about the proposed golf league, but doesn’t like it. The league, in early planning stages, would rival the PGA and European Tours and boasts a season of 18 events across the globe and $10 million purses at each stop.

Our Unforgettable Person of the Week is legendary golfer Mickey Wright who died last week at the age of 85. Wright will be remembered as one of the most decorated golfers of all time, but her swing is a legend of its own.

Professional golf recap

PGA: Patrick Reed won the WGC- Mexico Championship by one stroke and Viktor Hovland earned his first PGA Tour win at the Puerto Rico Open. Next up is the Honda Classic which begins Thursday at PGA National.

Euro Tour: Top European Tour players joined PGA Tour players at the WGC- Mexico Championship. The next stop on the European Tour is the Oman Open in Muscat, Oman, which begins Thursday.

LPGA: After the LPGA’s three-event Asia swing was canceled due to concerns over coronavirus, the next LGPA event is the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix, Arizona, beginning March 19.

More information on these top stories can be found in the latest edition of Golfweek Rewind, featured above.

How much each golfer won at the WGC-Mexico Championship

Check out how much each golfer won this week at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Patrick Reed was steady enough on Sunday at Club de Golf Chapultepec to leave Mexico City with a new trophy.

Reed, who earned his eighth PGA Tour victory and second WGC win, putted for bogey on the par-4 18th to card a final-round 4-under 67 and win the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at 18 under, one shot over Bryson DeChambeau.

DeChambeau, who finished Sunday 6-under 65, led earlier in the round, but Reed seized the lead with a string of birdies from Nos. 15-17.

Scroll through the list below to find out how much each golfer at the WGC-Mexico Championship won over the weekend.

WGC-MEXICO: Leaderboard | Photos

WGC-Mexico Championship

Position Player To Par Earnings
1 Patrick Reed -18 $1,820,000
2 Bryson DeChambeau -17 $1,150,000
T-3 Jon Rahm -15 $600,000
T-3 Erik van Rooyen -15 $600,000
5 Rory McIlroy -14 $430,000
T-6 Hideki Matsuyama -13 $320,666
T-6 Tyrrell Hatton -13 $320,666
T-6 Justin Thomas -13 $320,666
T-9 Billy Horschel -12 $237,500
T-9 Kevin Na -12 $237,500
11 Paul Casey -11 $205,000
T-12 Abraham Ancer -9 $182,000
T-12 Gary Woodland -9 $182,000
T-14 Xander Schauffele -8 $160,000
T-14 Sebastian Muñoz -8 $160,000
T-16 Carlos Ortiz -7 $143,500
T-16 Rafa Cabrera Bello -7 $143,500
T-18 Bubba Watson -6 $125,500
T-18 Tommy Fleetwood -6 $125,500
T-18 Kevin Kisner -6 $125,500
T-18 Benjamin Hebert -6 $125,500
T-22 Brandt Snedeker -5 $105,500
T-22 Lee Westwood -5 $105,500
T-22 Cameron Smith -5 $105,500
T-22 Matt Kuchar -5 $105,500
T-26 Adam Scott -4 $90,000
T-26 Zander Lombard -4 $90,000
T-26 Scottie Scheffler -4 $90,000
T-29 Shane Lowry -3 $73,500
T-29 Ryan Fox -3 $73,500
T-29 Sungjae Im -3 $73,500
T-29 Chez Reavie -3 $73,500
T-29 Lanto Griffin -3 $73,500
T-29 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -3 $73,500
T-29 Justin Harding -3 $73,500
T-29 Byeong Hun An -3 $73,500
T-37 Matthew Fitzpatrick -2 $56,200
T-37 Shaun Norris -2 $56,200
T-37 Brendon Todd -2 $56,200
T-37 Bernd Wiesberger -2 $56,200
T-37 Sergio Garcia -2 $56,200
T-42 Marc Leishman -1 $49,500
T-42 Branden Grace -1 $49,500
T-42 Danny Willett -1 $49,500
T-42 Matthias Schwab -1 $49,500
T-42 Robert MacIntyre -1 $49,500
T-42 Collin Morikawa -1 $49,500
T-48 Dustin Johnson E $45,500
T-48 Zach Murray E $45,500
50 Corey Conners +1 $44,000
T-51 Louis Oosthuizen +2 $42,500
T-51 Jason Kokrak +2 $42,500
T-53 Francesco Molinari +3 $39,100
T-53 Charles Howell III +3 $39,100
T-53 Victor Perez +3 $39,100
T-53 Kurt Kitayama +3 $39,100
T-53 Jazz Janewattananond +3 $39,100
T-58 Jordan Spieth +4 $36,500
T-58 Lucas Herbert +4 $36,500
T58 Matt Wallace +4 $36,500
T-61 Shugo Imahira +5 $35,000
T-61 Webb Simpson +5 $35,000
T-61 Lucas Glover +5 $35,000
64 Pablo Larrazabal +6 $34,000
65 Scott Hend +8 $33,750
66 Mike Lorenzo-Vera +10 $33,500
67 Jorge Campillo +11 $33,250
68 Ryo Ishikawa +12 $33,000
T-69 Marcus Kinhult +13 $32,625
T-69 Graeme McDowell +13 $32,625
71 Sung Kang +15 $32,250
72 Tae Hee Lee +19 $32,000

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Patrick Reed tunes out critics, comes from behind to win WGC-Mexico

Patrick Reed’s late birdies helped him overtake Bryson DeChambeau late in the final round at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

MEXICO CITY – A week that began with more biting criticism about his escapade in the sand in the Bahamas last December ended with an emphatic response from Patrick Reed.

Reed blocked out all the noise, deflected the condemnations and then stormed from behind on the back nine Sunday to win the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
En route to his second WGC title and eighth PGA Tour victory, the 2018 Masters champion shot rounds of 69-63-67-67 to finish at 18 under and one shot clear of Bryson DeChambeau.

World No. 3 Jon Rahm fell short of his bid to become No. 1 but finished third at 15 under alongside Erik van Rooyen, who celebrated his 30th birthday earlier this week. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy shot 68 to finish at 14 under and in fifth.

Overnight leader and world No. 4 Justin Thomas had a miserable final round, closing with a 73 to finish in a three-way tie for sixth with Hideki Matsuyama and Tyrrell Hatton.

Trailing by two with seven holes to play, Reed closed with birdies on 12, 15, 16 and 17 for the win. It was the perfect reply Reed was working toward considering the ongoing chatter about his conscience and his replies to claims of cheating.

From Maui to Melbourne and a few parts in between, Reed has been roundly criticized for his incident in a waste bunker during the Hero World Challenge, where he improved his lie with two short practice swings and was penalized two strokes. Accusations of cheating soon followed.

This week Brooks Koepka said he wondered if Reed “was building sand castles” in the bunker. Former CBS broadcaster Peter Kostis said he saw multiple instances of cheating by Reed over the years. During this week’s tournament, as well as in the Presidents Cup in Australia and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, a few hecklers voiced their opinions.

Reed, 29, has just blocked out the uproar emanating from Bunkergate by plugging in his headphones, putting his nose to the grindstone and taking care of business.

“The biggest thing for me is any time you go to the golf course, pop in my headphones, get to work, and just really get in tune with every golf shot I hit because at the end of the day, you can’t listen to what other people are saying. All you can control is what you do,” Reed said this week.

“For me, I just go out there and try to play the best golf I can, try to improve on and off the golf course each and every day, and if I feel like I’m doing that, then I’m living the right way and I’m working as hard as I need to be working.”

 

With Masters debut approaching, Erik van Rooyen finds his groove at WGC-Mexico Championship

With his Masters debut approaching, Erik van Rooyen has found his groove at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Erik van Rooyen picked the perfect time to find his A-game.

After tying the course record on Friday with a 62 (Jon Rahm would break the record with a 61 on Saturday), the 30-year-old finds himself in contention at this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship with a busy schedule ahead.

In 46 days the eyes of the golf world will be on Augusta National for the Masters, where van Rooyen will compete for the first time. He qualified for the Masters by finishing inside the top 50 of the final OWGR last year.

As a freshman in college in 2009 at the University of Minnesota, the Golden Gophers played in Augusta State’s tournament, held the weekend before the Masters. Van Rooyen and his Minnesota teammates got tickets to Monday’s practice round.

“I remember Tiger was warming up with Fred Couples, Trevor Immelman was on the range, and I guess you go see some iconic holes, No. 1, walked a few holes, and then went to Amen Corner,” recalled van Rooyen after Friday’s round in Mexico City. “Thirteen is a much bigger dogleg than what it seems on TV, and then we just kind of spent some time there, bought a little bit of merchandise, as everybody does, and yeah, just kind of tried to soak it in.”

WGC-MEXICO: Leaderboard | Photos | Updates

Looking back, van Rooyen has fond memories of his first trip to Augusta National. As an untested freshman, the South African knew his game was far from Masters-quality, but he knew he would one day get his chance.

“I always thought I’d play it, but until you do it, you don’t really know,” said van Rooyen.

“I’m probably looking forward to the first tee shot on Thursday with all the people there. That’s what you dream of, right?”

While his dream is soon to become a reality, van Rooyen has some work to do before driving down Magnolia Lane.

“I’d love to get into the Players. I’m currently just outside the top 50,” he said. “I’m playing Honda next week, hopefully Players, and then Match Play and then Augusta, which I’ve never been to before.”

After missing the cut at last week’s Genesis Invitational, the 30-year-old said he’s learned a lot about his game this week at a tournament featuring a field of the world’s best.

“I think at a tournament like this and a field like this, if you can play well, you can play well anywhere,” said van Rooyen. “So if I continue the way I’m going, it’ll be a big confidence booster.”

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Jon Rahm leaps up leaderboard after record-setting ‘lucky day’ at WGC-Mexico Championship

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses the third round at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard discusses the third round at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Jon Rahm leaps up leaderboard after record-setting ‘lucky day’ at WGC-Mexico Championship

Jon Rahm shot a course-record 61 Saturday at Club de Golf Chapultepec during the third round of the WGC-Mexico Championship.

MEXICO CITY – Jon Rahm had a 5, 4, 3 and 2 on his card in Saturday’s third round of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Oh, and a 1.

Rahm’s numerical brilliance included an ace on the par-3 17th, where he one hopped his tee shot into the hole from 158 yards using a gap wedge to make his second hole-in-one on the PGA Tour.

In all, his card showed a 1, three 2s, four 3s, eight 4s and two 5s that totaled 61 shots at Club de Golf Chapultepec, a score of 10 under and a course record. The next lowest score in the round was a 65.

It was a special card and a special day from the get-go as Rahm began with four consecutive birdies and six in his first seven holes. He finished with nine birdies.

“I basically had tap-in, tap-in, tap-in and 10 feet for birdie, and I thought, today could be a really special day,” Rahm said. “And then backing it up with a great birdie on 6 and then 7 and a great tee shot on 8, which is a difficult tee shot, I thought it could have been the day it ended up being.

WGC-MEXICO: Leaderboard | Photos | Updates | Tee times, TV info

“I had a little bit of a hiccup, a three-putt on 8, and it’s just a difficult hole, but everything balances out. I think a lot of us like to talk sometimes about how unlucky we get, and I think today was one of those days where I got fortunate. I hit the right shots and I got the right bounces, and I took advantage of it.

“It was my lucky day, and combined with really good golf, today happened.”

Now he has a chance to win come tomorrow’s final round. Rahm, the world’s No. 3-ranked player who started the day 10 shots behind the leaders, can become the world’s top-ranked player if he wins and Rory McIlroy finishes third or worse. But he still has work to do.

Rahm is at 11 under and will start the day four shots behind world No. 4 Justin Thomas, who despite a final-hole bogey shot 65 to reach 15 under. Patrick Reed (67) and Erik van Rooyen (67) are one shot back of Thomas. Also at 11 under are world No. 1 McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau (71).

“I’m just really happy that after the first two days I’m going to have a legitimate chance tomorrow without needing to shoot 59 or something like that,” said Rahm, who opened with rounds of 72-69. “So luckily I took care of that today and hopefully tomorrow I can just put a solid round together and have a chance. But it’s really unique. I think we all compete and want to win tournaments when everybody is playing their best, and if you win one of those stacked fields, it’s a lot of fun, and it’s a great accomplishment, so hopefully I’m the one on top tomorrow afternoon.

Jon Rahm celebrates after a hole-in-one on the 17th hole during the third round of the WGC – Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec. (Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports)

“I just need to stay focused, know that I’m not going to get as lucky as I did today, and maybe know that I’m not going to make every putt I look at. Just stay confident that I’m under control of my golf swing and keep hitting the right shots and hopefully get a decent start and give the leaders something to think about.”

Thomas lost in a playoff here two years ago to Phil Mickelson, was ninth last year and tied for fifth three years ago. One of the many strengths of his game is his wedge play, and in the thin air here – the course rests 7,800 feet above sea level – Thomas can get a lot of wedges in his hands.

“I played a lot of really, really solid, good golf throughout the middle of the day and made some good putts when I needed to and hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in, as well,” he said. “Definitely a lot more positives than negatives.

“For the most part I feel like I’m playing well, doing all the right things. Just my bogeys this week have been sloppy, so I’d really like to have a clean card tomorrow and just give ourselves a good chance the last couple holes.”

Reed leads the field with 34 one-putts and is confident heading into the final round despite not being as sharp Saturday as he was Friday.

“It wasn’t as solid as I wanted it to be, but I still hit a lot of quality golf shots,” he said of the third round. “I still hit a lot of quality putts. But there were a couple areas there that I feel like, not really as much swing errors, just kind of mental errors. Putting balls in the wrong spot, trying to be too aggressive on certain shots. That seemed to get me in a little bit of trouble. Instead of having a 20-footer for birdie, I’d have to chip from off the green.

“But one back going into tomorrow, it’s all you can ask for. Hopefully play well tomorrow and we have a chance to win a golf tournament.”

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WGC-Mexico Championship: Final round tee times, TV info

Here are the final round tee times and TV info for the WGC-Mexico Championship.

The World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship concludes Sunday at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, and the field includes some of golf’s best players.

The field is comprised of eight of the top-10 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking and six of the top-10 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking.

Justin Thomas holds a one-shot lead at 15 under entering the final round. The 26-year-old carded a 6-under 66 Saturday in a round that featured five birdies on the back nine. Thomas ended the day with a bogey on the par-4 18th.

Patrick Reed, coming off a second-round 63, carded a 67 Saturday to sit one stroke behind Thomas alongside Erik van Rooyen at 14 under. Reed sat square with Thomas at 15 under as he approached No. 18, but bogeyed his final hole to yield his share of the 54-hole lead.

WGC-MEXICO: Leaderboard | Best photos | Updates

First-round leader and World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is T-4 at 11 under with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.

Final round

All times listed in Eastern.

1st tee

Tee time Players
12:18 p.m. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Marc Leishman, Shane Lowry
12:30 p.m. Sungjae Im, Danny Willett, Chez Reavie
12:42 p.m. Bubba Watson, Corey Conners, Lanto Griffin
12:54 p.m. Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Zander Lombard
1:06 p.m. Lee Westwood, Sebastián Muñoz, Scottie Scheffler
1:18 p.m. Justin Harding, Zach Murray, Tommy Fleetwood
1:30 p.m. Carlos Ortiz, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Kevin Kisner
1:42 p.m. Billy Horschel, Benjamin Hebert, Matt Kuchar
1:54 p.m. Kevin Na, Hideki Matsuyama, Abraham Ancer
2:06 p.m. Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Gary Woodland
2:18 p.m. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau
2:30 p.m. Justin Thomas, Erik von Rooyen, Patrick Reed

10th tee

Tee time Players
12:18 p.m. Branden Grace, Shaun Norris, Ryan Fox
12:30 p.m. Matthias Schwab, Brendon Todd, Robert MacIntyre
12:42 p.m. Collin Morikawa, Shugo Imahira, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
12:54 p.m. Bernd Wiesberger, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker
1:06 p.m. Pablo Larrazabal, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith
1:18 p.m. Jason Kokrak, Byeong Hun An, Sergio Garcia
1:30 p.m. Francesco Molinari, Jordan Spieth, Charles Howell III
1:42 p.m. Victor Perez, Kurt Kitayama, Lucas Herbert
1:54 p.m. Webb Simpson, Jazz Janewattananond, Lucas Glover
2:06 p.m. Jorge Campillo, Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Scott Hend
2:18 p.m. Matt Wallace, Marcus Kinhult, Sung Kang
2:30 p.m. Graeme McDowell, Ryo Ishikawa, Tae Hee Lee

Viewing information

All times are in Eastern.

Sunday

Golf Channel: 1-2:30 p.m.
NBC: 2:30-7 p.m.
SiriusXM: 2-7 p.m.

Chez Reavie, Jon Rahm make holes-in-one Saturday at WGC-Mexico Championship

Chez Reavie and Jon Rahm both made holes-in-one Saturday during the third round at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Putting is overrated.

It’s Moving Day at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, and what better way is there to shoot up the leaderboard than with a hole-in-one?

During Saturday’s third round at Mexico City’s Club de Golf Chapultepec, both Chez Reavie and Jon Rahm, former Arizona State Sun Devils, made holes-in-one within minutes of each other.

Reavie was first, acing the 167-yard par 3 third hole. It was Reavie’s fifth hole-in-one made on the PGA Tour and his second in the last two months. The two-time winner on Tour aced the eighth hole during the final round of the QBE Shootout in December.

Rahm was next, one-hopping his ball into the bottom of the cup off the tee at the 158-yard par 3 17th. But why talk about it when we can just show you?

Rahm walked off the course T-5 at 11 under with the leaders still playing. Reavie is 2 under, T-29.

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Patrick Reed addresses outside noise, tries to ‘improve every day on and off the golf course’

Patrick Reed addressed his ability to block out the outside noise as he contends at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

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The last few months have been anything but easy for Patrick Reed.

The fallout from a two-stroke penalty for a pair of practice swings taken in a waste bunker at December’s Hero World Challenge has brought on heckling fans, an incident with his caddie and fan at the Presidents Cup and even a cease and desist sent from his attorney to Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.

In five events since the Hero, Reed has two missed cuts at the Sony Open as well as the Saudi International. He also has top-10 finishes with a T-2 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and T-6 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Despite more criticism from Brooks Koepka and claims of cheating by former CBS analyst Peter Kostis earlier this week, Reed brushed it all off and is working on another strong finish, this time at the WGC-Mexico Championship. After 36 holes, Reed is T-2 with Erik van Rooyen at 10 under, one shot behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.

WGC-MEXICO: Leaderboard | Best photos | Updates

“I think the biggest thing for me is I just work so hard at it,” Reed said in a TV interview after his round on his ability to compartmentalize and block out the noise from outside the ropes. “My team and I work really hard, and I’m not going to lie, just the whole thing on the outside distracts us from our ultimate goal, and that’s to go out and play great golf and continue to try to improve every day on and off the golf course.”

“As long as you’re doing that, then you’re living the right way,” added Reed. “So at the end of the day, you can’t please everybody, and I feel like I’m doing everything I need to be doing to continue to strive in the game of golf hopefully on and off the golf course.”

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