This Patrick Reed swing change has him on brink of history

Captain America is on the cusp of history, albeit on the other side of the world.  

After a second-round 64 at the DP World Tour Championship, in Dubai, Patrick Reed has a four-shot lead, putting him in pole position to become the first American to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, nee the Order of Merit.

Yep, first American ever.

You’re forgiven if you haven’t been keeping tabs on Reed’s steady ascent up the Euro Tour’s points list — 2020 has served us one or two distractions — but there Reed sits, in the top spot. Even if he finishes second at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Sunday, only three players could overtake Reed for the title.

So, how has he done it? First, with a sneaky good run. With all the bluster in 2020 around Bryson, DJ and the new fleet of young guns, Reed has been showing up, week after week, especially in events that most influence the Race to Dubai standings — i.e., the majors and WGCs. Here are Reed’s seven 2020 starts that count toward his RTD total:

The consistency didn’t just happen. Reed has credited his steady play to the work he has done with his swing coaches, David Leadbetter and Irishman Sean Hogan, who has worked with the likes of Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood.

On Friday, Reed was asked which part of his game he has most been trying to improve.

“I think the biggest thing is the consistency,” he said. “In the past, when I was swinging well and hitting the ball well, I could hit it close all day. But it was the days I was a hair off that the ball was just getting away from me too much — whether it was off the tee, iron shots into the greens — I was having to lean too much on my short game.”

Reed’s short game stacks up against anyone’s but there are only so many times even the deftest chippers and putters can pull rabbits out of their hats.

“Today and this week and ever since I started kind of with the new swing, it just feels a little bit more controllable,” he continued. “It feels as if I don’t have as big a curve going on irons and stuff, and because of that I feel like whether it’s a right flag or left flag, I can aim closer to the hole rather than trying to aim farther away and trying to sling it in there.”

Reed concluded: “I think that’s been the biggest difference so far. The misses are playable as far as you can still handle them, get up-and-down or even have a putt for birdie.”

There’s a lesson in there for all of us: Whatever your own personal version of bad is, learn how to manage it and better scores will follow.

How Reed manages the weekend in Dubai will decide his run at history, but if he can continue to maintain his consistency and manage his mistakes, the field will have much work to do to catch him.

Reed’s closest pursuer, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, knows what he’s up against.

“Don’t get me wrong, his whole-round game is brilliant,” Fitzpatrick said of Reed, “but I’ve always admired him for his chipping and pitching. Every time I watch him you always think it’s going to be — he’s going to hole it or it’s going to go close, and I think he’s very underrated on that front. When he is going to be out of position tomorrow, which is inevitable, everyone is, that’s just the way golf is, in my mind I back him to get up-and-down nine times out of 10. You wouldn’t necessarily say that for some players, but he’s one of those guys. So it’s definitely going to be a grind.”