Ahead of the World Wide Technology Championship Patrick Reed says he’s driven by trophies

The 31-year-old had entered the year flying high from finishing in the top 20 in his previous four Major Championships and he maintained that trend through the first three Majors of 2021.

But a missed cut at the Open in July prompted a loss of form and a mystery illness in August left him ailing as the 2021/22 season kicked off: he missed the cut in his first start and finished T68th (in a 78-man field) in his second.

But last week he raced home to land a share of second at the Bermuda Championship and, as he prepared for Thursday's first round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, he was in bullish mood.

"I'm driven by trophies," he said. "I've always been so driven by winning golf tournaments, having a chance on Sunday and getting that adrenaline that money can't buy.

"When you get those juices flowing coming down the last seven or eight holes with the chance to win a golf tournament, that's what I live for: having those kind of moments, having a chance to win and hopefully closing them off at the end to be able to hoist a trophy.

"I also know the more you play like that, the more you have a chance to win, the more trophies you win."

He'd been asked the question in relation to the vast amounts of money that flows within the game - and the even larger sums that various mooted projects are promising for the future.

"If you play well the money will take care of itself," he argued. "Money from the tournaments, but also sponsors."

"Oh, yeah, money was an issue," he said. "It was one of those where could you go from a tight spot to feeling a little bit more comfortable, allowing yourself to free up and not worry about every putt or every shot.

"(My wife) Justine was on the bag. If we made the cut, we'd go out and have a nice steak dinner on Friday night. If we didn't make the cut, it's PB&Js and let's get ready for the following week.

"Really, I've never been - and my team too - we've never been money driven. We've been more about going out and performing and playing some good golf."

Playing good golf at the Bermuda Championship has proved handy for visitors to El Camaleon in the last two years.

In 2019 Brendon Todd completed the Bermuda-Mayakoba double while last year's Bermuda winner Brian Gay was already an El Camaleon winner.

Can Reed use last week as the ideal primer? He'll need to improve on his debut four years ago when he missed the cut.

Let's see what else he had to say.

"The golf course is amazing. It's in immaculate shape. Back in '17 I thought the golf course was in really good shape as well, but they say it's the best it's ever been.

"It's a great course. You have to hit so many different golf shots and you have to use everything in your entire golf bag, every club, every shot whether it's draw, fade, hit it high, hit it low, soft shots, full shots.

"Then the people here. They're always very friendly, very generous and really come out and support. I think that's one of the things that separates the event, why guys come down and play, not just because of the course, but also the people are great."

"I was always wanting to be known as a worldwide player because not only do you get to visit all these amazing places and see the different cultures, different people, but also to grow my game.

"You know, you play links in Scotland, the ball's played on the ground. You have to learn how to play in 40-mile-an-hour wind, you're hitting a lot of golf shots. In the United States it's ball more in air; you're trying to carry the ball because the greens are softer. And you have all different grasses from Bermuda to Paspalum to Zoysia to Bent to Kentucky Blue, you need to learn how to play them.

"To become a complete player you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That's the biggest thing for me."