(Reuters) – Former Masters champion Patrick Reed returned to action at the season-ending Tour Championship on Thursday in Atlanta after a recent hospital stay for bilateral pneumonia that he revealed left him fearing for his life.
After playing his first competitive round in 25 days, Reed spent plenty of time during his post-round news conference at East Lake discussing an illness that resulted in a week-long stay at a Houston hospital.
“First couple days they were sitting there telling me that make sure you text your family quite a bit, talk to your family, because you just don’t know. I mean, this is not good. We’re not in a good spot right now,” Reed told reporters.
“The only thing that was going through my mind is, I’m not going to be able to tell my kids goodbye. I’m not going to be able to tell them I love them. I’m not going to be able to tell my wife that I love her and give her a hug.”
A nine-times winner of the PGA Tour, Reed said he was happy not to show any ill-effects after having missed the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs.
Reed, who only resumed practice on Monday and was the 30th and final man to make the field at the Tour Championship, shot a two-over-par 72 at East Lake but was well off the pace due in large part to a staggered scoring system for the finale.
“As a whole, I feel optimistic, obviously with the way I finished, getting through 18 and not feeling like my health
is hindering me,” Reed said.
Reed added he probably would not be playing this week if it were not for his determination to earn a spot on the U.S. team to play Europe in the Sept. 24-26 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.
Having not secured an automatic spot on the team, Reed is hoping to convince U.S. captain Steve Stricker to make him one of the remaining six players selected.
“Honestly, the biggest thing is, talking with Stricks and stuff, is just making sure I’m healthy and I think the biggest thing for me this week is just to see kind of where I’m at,” said Reed.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
