Patrick Reed: Ryder Cup star will regret his outburst, says Rob Lee

Patrick Reed will regret his outburst, but Rob Lee doesn't want to see the end of passion on the course...

Patrick Reed is obviously going to be fined for his rant on the course. We all saw how much spirit he had at the Ryder Cup – he’s a young guy and he’s venting, and he got caught venting in a way he shouldn’t have done. I’m sure he’s sorry for it and it all came out wrong, as you would say.

Patrick has apologised and he knows he shouldn’t have said it. But does it upset me when people swear on the golf course? No, because I understand how frustrating a game it can be and I know that sometimes you just snap. But if it comes out on air, you should apologise and you’ll have to pay a fine.

I understand when people swear on the golf course - you can’t expect sportsmen to be hermetically sealed and cocooned away from the public

I’m sure he regrets it, but at the same time I still want to see the passion. I love watching the spirited players like Ian Poulter, Reed and Billy Horschel; guys who show you something out on the course. I’d rather not watch the robot guys who go around and say “golly” every time they hit a bad shot!

I want to see a guy who’s going to show me how he’s feeling, give me something back and show some passion about what he’s doing, as opposed to somebody who’s so suppressed because he’s had far too many sessions with the psychologist. I find that quite dull.

I understand when people swear on the golf course. You can’t expect sportsmen to be hermetically sealed and cocooned away from the public – that just doesn’t work. With footballers, even if you can’t hear them because the mics are on the edge of the pitch, you can see exactly what they’re saying and it’s not “may I have another apple pie please, Grandma”! Golfers are no different, but the effects mics are right in there and pick up what they say.

When you’re pushing hard all the time, mentally, you can get discombobulated out on the golf course and come out of yourself, as it were. You forget where you are and it comes out, and by then it’s too late.

Impossible

On to Turkey, and I was trying to work it out the other day – the odds on somebody catching Rory are about 7,000,000,000,000 to 1.

I’m putting my neck out there and saying it’s impossible to catch Rory, so I don’t think it’s going to happen. But, you know what, should you be able to catch Rory after the year he’s had? If you have a year like that and you don’t end up top dog there’s something wrong.

His play through the summer was extraordinary. It all kicked off at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and after that he just never looked back. He was absolutely mesmerising, as he was in the singles on the Sunday in the Ryder Cup. He took Rickie Fowler apart, which is pretty difficult to do.

So he, by far, as his lead suggests, is the golfer of the year so I’m pleased he’s going to win it. It would have been nice if he could have played in Shanghai but that’s the way it’s worked out for him. But he’s still top of the Race to Dubai by far and he’s the guy you want to give the award to, really.

Charge

For everyone else, they’ll be trying to win in Turkey and then Dubai. They’re big tournaments with really good fields so they’re ones you’d like to win as a player.

Someone like Henrik Stenson finished very well last week so he might be someone to make a charge, and he’ll fancy making a charge for that runner-up spot to Rory. He was -8 going into the ninth – his last hole – in Shanghai last week so he’ll be feeling pretty good about life.

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Victor Dubuisson withdrew last week with a bad back, but hopefully he’ll be in Turkey to defend his title because that was his breakthrough 12 months ago. He’s great to watch because you’re never quite sure what he’s going to do. When he won it last year he won it in style – he kept taking the driver and flushing it down the middle. He just kept going for it and showed us what he's all about. L

The French boys are looking good – I’m a big Dubuisson fan and a big Alex Levy fan. Levy was the best of my tips last week. I thought Justin Rose was going to have a good one but it never happened. Sergio Garcia, I thought, was stitched on for it, but that never happened. Golf’s difficult to predict – it’s worse than the Premier League! You can have everything lined up, looking perfect, you’re swinging well, you’re full of confidence…then nothing.

Donaldson’s had a fantastic year, Sergio’s been super consistent, and Marcel Siem has just won a massive event in China while Alex Levy has had two wins this year, so there are a lot of people who could make a challenge, while Lee Westwood is another one who will be looking for a strong finish to the season, but I'm backing Henrik Stenson in Turkey.