Patrick Reed took to Twitter to make a statement on the rules situation he found himself in during last week’s Dubai Desert Classic, saying “some people love controversy,” in a tweet he sent from his official account.
Reed tweeted a screenshot of a text message as a statement at 12:02 p.m. ET on Tuesday. It’s the first time he’s spoken about the incident since he met with the media after his third round on Sunday in Dubai.
Reed’s tee shot got stuck in a cluster of trees on the 17th hole, and Reed and a rules official used binoculars to try and identify a ball with Reed’s markings. Reed, who said he was “100 percent” confident he spotted his ball, took an unplayable and made a bogey.
“I would have gone back to the tee if I was not 100 percent,” Reed said.
There was also some confusion on which tree Reed’s ball went into. Video footage made it appear it went into one tree, but Reed dropped near a different one. Brandel Chamblee, who Reed tried to sue for defamation last year (the case was dismissed), broke it down via video.
The DP World Tour released a statement after the incident, saying: “Two on-course referees and several marshals identified that Patrick Reed’s ball had become lodged in a specific tree following his tee shot on 17. The DP World Tour chief referee joined the player in the area and asked him to identify his distinctive ball markings. Using binoculars, the chief referee was satisfied that a ball with those markings was lodged in the tree.
“The player subsequently took an unplayable penalty drop (Rule 19.2c) at the point directly below the ball on the ground. To clarify, the player was not asked to specify the tree but to identify his distinctive ball markings to confirm it was his ball.”
Patrick Reed, after Teegate and Treegate, nearly wins. Of course he did.
Reed took to Twitter on Tuesday, saying: “This is my statement regarding Dubai Desert Classic! Maybe it’s time we get back to playing some golf! Best wishes.”
Here’s the text from his screenshot:
“Some people love controversy. But what happened on the 17th hole at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic was a non-issue. As the DP World Tour confirmed, I was not asked to identify the tree my ball struck (that was done by the ShotLink volunteers and several marshals), I was asked to describe the distinctive markings on the ball I was playing.
I am looking forward to this week’s Asian Tour Flagship event at Royal Greens.”
Reed finished second, a stroke behind Rory McIlroy, whom Reed also made headlines alongside after a driving range incident earlier in the week.