Patrick Reed and the spineless PGA Tour are perfect for each other, unfortunately

Patrick Reed did it again.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. 

Patrick Reed put on a masterclass over the weekend on how to be a villain on the PGA Tour and not only get away with it, but also walk away with over a million bucks and a trophy in the process.

Reed, in case you missed it, was the central figure in yet another controversial ruling and this was maybe his most brazen performance in what has been a sea of ugly moments for a golfer who loves to push the limits of the rule book, legacy and reputation be damned.

And you know who didn’t mind at all about what happened over the weekend at Torrey Pines? The PGA Tour, because not only did the Tour allow it to happen with no penalties, but the Tour applauded the way he handled things and fully backed him up even while everyone in the real world yelled about how Reed took things – literally – into his own hands.

I mean, when Jim Nantz is calling shenanigans – as he basically did on the broadcast on both Saturday and Sunday – then you know you have really overstepped things because Nantz seems like the type of guy who would applaud a chef for serving him an overcooked steak.

Reed’s masterclass included putting responsibility on everyone but himself. There was the volunteer who told him she didn’t see his ball bounce (which it did). Then there was the rules official who Reed instantly sold on a story about the ball being embedded and there being a lip in the ground where his ball once was. I say “once was” because Reed had picked his ball up and taken it away from the spot on the ground, which was just a bananas thing to do.

Then after his round Reed talked about how the Tour said he handled everything perfectly. There was also a wild, all-caps tweet from his account (that sure seemed like it was supposed to come from a different account) that called out Rory McIlroy for doing the same thing. That tweet was never brought up by reporters who peppered Reed with questions about cheating after his victory. It sure would have been nice if that tweet had been brought up!

The PGA Tour has long done whatever it takes to protect the “honor” of their players. They’ve quickly deleted their own tweets that might have shown players in a poor light – Jon Rahm going off after a bad shot in the Players’ Championship a few years ago and Matt Kuchar taking 45 minutes to get the worst ruling ever, are just a few examples. Just spineless stuff by a Tour that wants to make everything about its existence seem perfect when it is often very far from that.

One player – Xander Schauffele – thankfully called out Reed and the Tour after Sunday’s finally round. He said Reed is “protected by the Tour and that’s all that matters, I guess.”

Schaufele will likely be fined for that, a fine we’ll never hear about because the Tour doesn’t announce fines because, duh, they love to protect their players.

Reed is going to keep using the Tour and putting volunteers and rules officials in awful positions because he knows he can get away with it. He’ll just smile through his bogus explanations and wink at the Tour when the direct deposit goes through.

It’s a shame, too, because Reed is a great player. He now has nine wins on Tour, he won the Masters a few years ago, and he’s had some legendary moments in the Ryder Cup.

But now his reputation has taken another hit – not that he seems to care – and all the talk about professional golf is about a moment that left everyone who loves the game embarrassed.

Well, except for Reed and the PGA Tour, apparently,

Quick hits: Stafford goes to the Rams… Time for 49ers to move their QB… Barry Sanders’ classy response to trade… And more.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

– The Rams traded for Matthew Stafford on Saturday, which was a huge move that sent Jared Goff to Detroit. Henry McKenna says it’s now up to Sean McVay to make this thing a success.

– Steven Ruiz says it’s now time for the 49ers to move their own overpriced QB – Jimmy Garappolo.

– Barry Sanders had a classy reaction to the Stafford trade.

– A report over the weekend says that friends and teammates think J.J. Watt has likely played his last game with the Texans.

– It’s now Super Bowl week and someone has put a $2.3 million bet on the Bucs to beat the Chiefs. Wowzers.