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Another tournament, another controversy involving Patrick Reed.
The polarizing American golfer sparked a fierce reaction on social media after he was caught on camera seemingly improving on his lie during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.
Former US Masters champion Reed had found the deep rough from the tee of the par 4 eighth hole, his 17th hole of the day, as he struggled to make the cut at Bay Hill.
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But when the camera zoomed in on Reed as he prepared to take his second shot, some eagle-eyed onlookers noted that the 30-year-old was playing with bits of grass behind his ball, apparently in an attempt to improve on his lie.
Sam Greenwood / Getty Images
Controversial golfer Patrick Reed sparked a social media backlash after seemingly moving some grass to improve his lie.
The suspicious move led several golf fans to label Reed a “cheater,” a label that has followed him in a series of controversies throughout his colorful career.
However, Reed’s alleged pruning did little to improve his luck as he only managed to hit the ball 37 yards closer to the pin and then did a 5-bogey.
It would be a costly hole for the Texan as he ended up missing the cut by one shot after a round of par three over.
The close-up video of Reed’s actions in the rough generated some caustic comments from golf fans on Twitter, with the Weekly golf account of the podcast comparing it to a “human lawnmower”.
Golf writer Geoff Shackelford sarcastically wrote: “Good to see you’ve taken the lessons [of] Torrey Pines to heart, “in reference to an incident at the Farmers Insurance Open where Reed was charged with a rule violation for a free drop.
Reed won that tournament by five strokes and responded to his critics on Twitter, accusing Rory McIlroy of doing the exact same thing on the final hole.
“Rory McIlroy did the same today on the 18th hole,” Reed wrote. “And I didn’t even call a rules official to consider embedded ball. End of story.”
The American was also accused of deliberately breaking the rules when he improved on his lie in a debris bunker during Tiger Woods’ Hero Challenge in December 2019.
Reed twice scooped up a pile of sand from behind his ball. When the incident was shown to him on video, he accepted the two-shot penalty.
Later that year, Reed was embroiled in another scandal when his caddy was kicked out of the Presidents Cup in Melbourne after shoving the spectator who had been goading Reed.
Canadian Corey Conners maintains the clubhouse lead at Bay Hill after two rounds at nine under par, with Scotsman Martin Laird and Northern Irishman McIlory among the chasing group at eight under par and seven under par, respectively.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee made the cut after shooting a 71 in his second round.
