How Patrick Reed froze out his family on the road to the Masters

The Green Jacket was no sooner over Patrick Reed’s shoulders than a story of cold, ruthless ambition emerged.

Patrick Reed is hugged by his wife Justine Karain after winning the Masters. Picture: AP.

It should be the most natural thing in the world for parents to weep when they see their children do great things. But when Jeannette Reed shed her tears on Sunday evening after watching her son Patrick win the Masters, they flowed not with joy but out of sorrow for the son that she had lost.

The Green Jacket was no sooner over Reed’s shoulders than a revealing and remarkable story about his family breakdown appeared on golf.com, the influential and generally authoritative American website. Written by Alan Shipnuck, a respected and well connected sports writer, it detailed how Jeannette and her husband, Bill, watched the closing scenes of the 82nd Masters in their Augusta house, still rooting for the son with whom they have had no meaningful contact for the past six years.

Patrick Reed of the United States is presented with the green jacket by Sergio Garcia of Spain after winning the 2018 Masters Tournament. Picture: Getty Images.

It would be the understatement of the century to say that Reed had a bit of baggage when he emerged into the world of professional golf in 2011. From his earliest years it was clear that he was blessed with a prodigious talent for the sport, but when he moved up to college golf, initially at the University of Georgia, it was just as obvious that he had some serious character flaws as well.

There were allegations that he stole from fellow students and that he cheated on the golf course. Reed has denied those, but it may be significant that none of his former college teammates has come to his defence. He has admitted that there were a couple of alcohol-related offences, one including a falsified ID, but those are almost rites of passage for American teenagers.

Details apart, the impression that emerges is that Reed was cocky, brash and generally obnoxious. The university was happy to show him the door. “There is no doubting the ability of Patrick as a golfer,” one of their golf coaches said. “It was Patrick as a person that we chose not to associate with.”

Patrick Reed smiles during the green jacket ceremony. Picture; Getty Images.

Reed took refuge at Augusta State University. Again, he did nothing to make himself popular and it has been said that his colleagues came close to voting him off their team. His talent was his saviour, though, as he dragged the historically underachieving ASU to two NCAA titles, the blue riband of American college sport.

Around the same time, he met Justine Karain, a talented swimmer and football player four years his senior. She was working as a nurse at the time, but she put her own plans to one side and began to work as Reed’s caddie. Reed has explained that she moderated his aggressive style of play and taught him to be more strategic on the course. They married in December 2012, when he was just 22.

If you were to write a screenplay of what followed, you would have to decide between two narratives. One would portray Justine as a helpmate who brought solace to a troubled soul and kept him on the straight and narrow. The other would paint her as a ruthless Lady Macbeth figure who cleaved his natural family apart and used him as the vehicle for her own ambitions.

Shipnuck reports that Bill and Jeannette had “misgivings” about their son marrying so young. They wanted him to take more time. As a result, they were not invited to the wedding and contact since has been almost non-existent. Bill and Jeannette have tried to heal the breach, but their overtures have been rebuffed. When they got hold of tickets to watch the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst, they were escorted off the premises.

Reed celebrates with his wife Justine after making par 18th green to win the 2018 Masters Tournament. Picture: Getty Images.

Reed did not just take Justine as his wife, he traded in one family for another. Her brother Kessler is now his caddie, while her mother Janet, according to Shipnuck, is “a kind of chief of staff” and travelling nanny to the couple’s two young children. The arrangement seems to make any prospect of a reconciliation with his parents remote.

The feud reached a new low two years ago when Justine penned a Facebook post that was savagely critical of Bill and Jeannette. “His parents verbally and physically abused him for most of his life, abused alcohol and would get in fist fights with him in the parking lots after bad rounds,” it said. Justine also said that Reed’s parents, who moved to Augusta when he was at college there, looked on him as a “meal ticket”.

That post brought a furious response from Hannah, Reed’s younger sister. “I have sat back and watched the numerous and disgusting accusations his wife, mother-in-law and everyone now associated as his family have made,” she replied. “Patrick is not the same person he used to be ... This is not a brother any more, but a selfish, horrible stranger and it’s heartbreaking.”

And yet, bizarrely, Bill and Jeannette still root for their son. That, too, gives them some distinction. As he made his way around Augusta on Sunday afternoon, it was abundantly clear that most spectators would rather have seen Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler or, well, just about anybody win the first major of the year.

Reed is a fiery character on the course. He is also wonderfully gifted and a deserving champion. There were a few shows of emotion on Sunday, but you cannot help but wonder what he has bottled up inside.

Whatever it is, it is staying there. At his press conference, he was asked if it was bittersweet not to be able to share his triumph with his family. “I’m just out here to play golf and try to win golf tournaments,” was his deadpan reply.

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