Patrick Reed Wins The Farmers Insurance Open

Donald Miralle. Getty Images.

What a weekend for Patrick Reed. Obviously there was the whirlwind that was the whole embedded ball controversy but surrounding that was some really excellent golf by the guy, especially around the greens. The guy just has stones. Whenever there's a shitstorm brewing around him he just digs his heels in and remains unflappable. He honestly didn't even strike the ball all that great today from tee to green, but every single time there was an opportunity for him to give a shot back to the field he would make the up and down look easy. 

A major function of his win was his opening round 64 on the North course. It's the easier course of the two and he took full advantage of it. It staked him towards the top of the leaderboard, where he just scrambled his balls off the final 3 rounds on the South course. He only hit 29 of 54 greens the rest of the way, a 54% clip. The average GIR for the tournament was roughly 60%. He also only hit 26 of 42 fairways at the South course. His 61% number was less than the field's average of 64%. That's an insane disparity for a guy walking away with the trophy. The only way to contend (let alone win) with those types of numbers is to play out of your mind around the greens. That aspect of anyone's game requires incredible concentration and feel and for him to do that in a tournament where there was so much scrutiny is beyond impressive. 

You might say that the story could have been different had there been a crowd at this event but everything about this guy's career suggests exactly the opposite. This guy doesn't give a fuck what anyone around him thinks and that's been a huge weapon for him throughout his career. Patrick ruffled some feathers a few years back when he said he's a top 5 player in the world. I'm not sure he's quite there but he's damn close. Came into this week ranked 11th and this will surely shoot him well into the top 10. 

He's now got 9 PGA Tour wins to his name, many of them coming in impressive manner. He's got a win at Augusta, he's won two WGC events, he's won a couple of FedEx Cup playoff events, and now he's got a win at Torrey Pines. Like him or hate him, Patrick Reed isn't going anywhere any time soon, and he sent home a lot of haters unhappy today.

Jamie Squire. Getty Images.