Patrick Reed apologizes, seeks Bubba Watson’s guidance after homophobic outburst

Patrick Reed, after issuing a Twitter apology for his expletive-laden outburst Thursday in China, turned for help from someone who’s had his share of foot-in-mouth moments.

“He came to me last night and said, ‘Hey, I did something bad,’” Bubba Watson told reporters about his Thursday night visit with Reed, whose homophobic slur laced with profanities after a bad hole earlier that day went viral.

“I said, ‘What did you do?’ So he showed me the clip on his phone,” Watson. “I said, ‘Yeah, that’s not good. That’s not good, man.’”

On the video, Reed muttered, “Nice f--king three-putt, you f--king f----t” after missing a short par putt on his 10th hole of the day, drawing a wave of criticism directed at the three-time tour winner. He tweeted an apology and later sought out Watson for his guidance on what to do next.

Watson, who could lead a seminar for wayward tour players on making amends for bad behavior, coincidentally earlier in the week discussed his own anger issues.

“The only way I’m going to improve as a human being, improve as a husband, improve as a dad, is when you get people that call you out. When I make mistakes, when your friends call you out, when the media calls you out, when my wife calls me out, when my mom calls me out; when these people call you out and tell you you’re doing something wrong, it’s not to punish you or get on to you. It’s about to help you improve later in life,” Watson said on Wednesday. “So any time there’s bad press where I show anger on a golf course, the media that calls me out and says something about it, that’s the only way I’m going to improve … to get better as a person.”

Whether Watson, whose temper tantrums inside the ropes and faux pas off the course are by now legendary, can actually change his demeanor remains to be seen. Who can forget the “yardage” incident at the Travelers Championship, the “L” word flap in France, the brouhaha in Britain, his loony rant about the longest-drive contest, and the weather-related meltdown at Valhalla?

More pertinent to Reed’s situation was Watson’s tweet supporting the homophobic statement made by ESPN’s Chris Broussard about openly gay NBA player Jason Collins.

On Thursday, Watson passed on the lessons he has gleaned over the years to his new acolyte.

“I said, ‘Well, we always learn something out of every situation,’” Watson, echoing sentiments he expressed to reporters prior to the WGC-HSBC Champions kickoff, said he told Reed. “That’s how you become a better man, and that’s what I told him. And it’s the same thing with me. I bet sometime before I pass away, unless I pass away tonight, I’m going to mess up again.

“I said, tell everybody you’re sorry and move on and hopefully everybody will forgive you over time,” said Watson, whose five straight birdies to finish his second round at China’s Sheshan International moved him to four shots of leader Graeme McDowell.

Reed, after carding a 73 on Friday to get to even for the tourney and likely facing a fine and/or other top-secret disciplinary action from the tour, took Watson’s advice.

“Today I felt like I handled myself pretty well, yesterday I did not,” Reed said. “I was so in the moment I don’t remember saying it. I remember being upset of course. Yesterday I made a stupid error, that’s for sure, and definitely I’m sorry for the words I said.”

Reed once again blamed his passion (and the ubiquitous microphones) for his blunder.

“We all know there’s microphones out there at the end of the day you have to know how to control and handle your emotions,” he said. “You know I live and die through every shot. It’s one of those things I have to learn how to deal with.”

While Reed’s use of the four-letter word alone would likely have earned him a tour reprimand, other players either chose to ignore the homophobic slur that accompanied his oath or pass it off as so-called “political correctness” run amok rather than address the derisive and derogatory term that has no place in sports or society (just ask Kobe Bryant).

“We all joke that golf’s a four-letter word. And there’s a lot of four-letter words involved when you play,” McDowell, Reed’s playing partner, told Alex Miceli. “I don’t blame Patrick for using a profanity, obviously it was just unfortunately a poor choice of words. He used one word which is politically incorrect and here we are.”

Ian Poulter, who had to apologize several years ago for an anti-Semitic tweet, also offered counsel.

“You have to be careful if microphones are out there,” Poulter, himself the intended target of ill-advised and sexist remarks from former PGA of America president Ted Bishop just two weeks ago, told Miceli. “I’m sure well aware of that. He’s made a big mistake and I’m sure he will be talked to about it … Live TV, it’s broadcast around the world, we all make mistakes and that was one of his.”

Less charitable toward Reed’s misstep was Adam Scott, who stood by his ex-caddie after Steve Williams directed a racist taunt at his former boss, Tiger Woods.

“If you don’t want to be heard saying it, don’t say it,” Scott told Reuters. “It will be a lesson learned for Patrick. We’ve all lost our temper. I did when I was young.”

Reed, who apparently did not address his use of the homophobic epithet, said he hoped to do better as he matured.

“I’m young and growing up. I had temper issues on and off the golf course,” he said to Miceli. “I live and die through every shot. The passion of the game for me — I love the game so much, and I expect perfection, but no one is ever going to be perfect in this game. It’s just one of those things that I have to learn how to deal with and know how to handle and when I do a good job on it, I definitely play better. It got the best of me this week.”