TELFER’S THOUGHTS 9.2.26

Some 6 or 7 years ago Patrick Reed, after one of his wins on the USPGA Tour, casually dopped into a post-round interview that he was now “One of the world’s top 5 golfers”. The problem was that the Official World Golf rankings said otherwise and had him ranked just inside the top 20. Call it ignorance or arrogance but it’s just the way Reed has always operated.

Love him or leave him Patrick Reed has a unique way of making his mark on international golf. After winning the 2018 Masters Reed’s form seemed to desert him, not helped by his on-course behaviour which saw a number of cheating allegations levelled his way. Brooks Koepka incidentally nicknamed him Sand Castles after Reed was accused some years back of sweeping sand away from behind his ball in a bunker.

For all the bad press Reed has attracted, American golfing fans have always loved him, especially for his Ryder Cup heroics. Who can forget his epic singles win against Rory McIlroy a decade or so ago which earned the surly American the title of Captain America?

Well ‘Capt A’ seems to have rediscovered his best form and it’s come coincidentally shortly after cutting his ties with LIV Golf. From his last 3 starts on the DP World Tour he’s recorded 2 wins and a second placing, the latter coming after he lost a sudden death playoff. This remarkable run of form has ironically seen Reed propel himself back just inside the top 20 on the World Rankings. LIV Golf, as the saying goes, probably isn’t amused.

Mind you, LIV Golf has been getting a bit more publicity than usual with the victory of 23-year-old Australian Elvis Smyllie in Saudi Arabia. He was also a member of the winning team in the same event. All up this young Aussie pocketed US$4.75 million for his 72 holes. Not a bad week’s work for a young bloke who had never won a golf tournament outside Australia. The good news for LIV is that the next stop on their world circuit is Adelaide which has always attracted by far the biggest crowds of any LIV tournament. At the Saudi event Ben Campbell finished 30th and fellow Kiwi Danny Lee in a tie for 41st .

Daniel Hillier I suspect wasn’t quite as upbeat as Patrick Reed was with himself or his golf after his final round at the Qatar Masters. The Kiwi started the last day just 3 shots behind Reed. After a solid enough start with pars on his first 2 holes, his tee shot on the 190-metre par 3 3rd missed the green, a poor second was followed by a 3-putt green for a double bogey, two holes later on the 5th he made bogey and all chances of victory had effectively disappeared. Out in 39, 3 over par, he improved slightly on the back nine where he had 3 birdies but also 3 bogeys and when he walked off the 18th

he had slipped from 4th place to a tie for 20th . However he still maintains his 5th place on the Road to Dubai.

Better news however from Kazuma Kobori whose golf at Qatar was the personification of consistency. He began the week with a 5 under par 67 then followed it with three rounds of 70 to finish the tournament in a tie for 9th place. This will have done young Kaz the world of good. Coming off a highly successful first year on this Tour in 2025, he’d missed the cut in his first 2 tournaments this year. After this top 10 finish his confidence I’m sure will be back. He also picked up E44,000 or close to NZ$100,000 and jumped 54 places on the Road to Dubai where he now sits in 86th place.

Ryan Fox meanwhile completed his first tournament of the year on the USPGA Tour. Competing in the Phoenix Open in Arizona in front of crowds of hundreds of thousands at this riotous event, Ryan turned in a classic Foxy 4-rounder, a giddy amalgam of birdies and bogeys. Fortunately the birdies out-ranked the bogeys by 8 and saw him finish in a tie for 24th , earning US$82,000. The tournament was won by this fast-rising American sensation Chris Gottterup who beat off Hideki Matsuyama on the first hole of sudden death. It was Gotterup’s second win of the season.