Eddie Pepperell believes "skilful" Patrick Reed is "good for golf"
Patrick Reed was accused by many of cheating on the PGA Tour on Saturday, but Eddie Pepperell maintains the belief that he's good for the game.
Eddie Pepperell took to Twitter on Saturday night to praise Patrick Reed for his talents and maintains the belief that the Ryder Cup villain is good for the game, despite being accused of cheating during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Reed's name was trending on Twitter yesterday after he decided to pick his ball up out of the rough, before calling a PGA Tour rules official over to check the situation.
According to Reed, he was told that his ball didn't bounce and he believed it was embedded, meaning he would be granted a free drop, but video evidence suggests that his golf ball did bounce before ending up in the rough, which would not entitle him to a free drop.
Reed took matters into his own hands and replaced his ball and managed to salvage a par, before ending the third round with a tie for the lead.
RELATED: Patrick Reed accused of "cheating" during Farmers Insurance Open
Thousands of golf fans, journalists and professionals were having their say on Twitter and Englishman Pepperell seemed to defend Reed, despite his obvious blunder.
"Of course it can be true that in the case of Patrick Reed he *may* have cheated, but that doesn’t mean he always cheats. I’ve played with Patrick and was astonished at how skilful a golfer he was. This is why it’s so sad that there are so many episodes like this with him.
"He doesn’t need to be trying to gain any advantage because his skill gives him one already. Him and his caddie I also found to be very friendly when I played with them. I still maintain he’s good for golf. The sand incident was the one that should’ve been punished, in my opinion.
"One more thing, we players should be more involved with the arbitration of this sort of stuff, but we’re not. And that’s not the fault of the players, it’s the fault of the body in charge who go to quite some length to ‘protect’ their assets.
"End of discussion from me. I’ll now move on."
... He doesn’t need to be trying to gain any advantage because his skill gives him one already. Him and his caddie I also found to be very friendly when I played with them. I still maintain he’s good for golf. The sand incident was the one that should’ve been punished, IMO.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) January 31, 2021
One more thing, we players should be more involved with the arbitration of this sort of stuff, but we’re not. And that’s not the fault of the players, it’s the fault of the body in charge who go to quite some length to ‘protect’ their assets.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) January 31, 2021
After his round, Reed was questioned on the incident, where he said that the rules official told him he handled the situation "absolutely perfectly".
