FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The notoriously rowdy crowds were out in full force at Bethpage Black for the third round of The Barclays.
Patrick Reed played in the final pairing Saturday, and when he reached the 17th tee alongside Emiliano Grillo, the New York spectators greeted them with hearty cheers. But when the crowds refused to settle down, Reed had to back away from his tee shot to re-focus.
“They were a little vocal. Fans were a little vocal and they wouldn’t be quiet,” Reed said. “Just kind of one of those things that I had to wait until we could get them to quiet down. Once it was quiet, I was able to hit a quality golf shot in there.”
Reed ultimately made par on the par-3 17th, and he closed with another par to finish an even-par round of 71 that left him one shot behind Rickie Fowler entering the final round.
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Reed has had a few brushes with crowd control in the past, notoriously shushing spectators by the thousands as he sank putt after putt at the Ryder Cup. While the situation caused him to re-focus, it didn’t sour his overall views of the throngs that have packed the Black Course for the last three days.
“I lived in Pittsburgh for quite some time when I was younger, so I knew how boisterous they can be out here,” he said. “It’s good. It’s good for the game. You can really feed off the energy that they give. If you get on a hot streak, then all of a sudden they get louder and louder, and it becomes very fun and interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to give them much to cheer about.”
