Patrick Reed may be bathing in the glow that follows a victory at Augusta, but questions need to be answered around revelations of his therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for an ADHD medication that helps to increase concentration.
As a result of the Fancy Bears leak in 2016, it was revealed that Reed was prescribed the medication - Vyvanse - on 15 August 2013. The TUE was granted for a daily intake of 30mg of the drug, which expired on 31 August 2017. It is unknown at this stage whether Reed applied for a new TUE after its expiration last summer.
Off the Ball's Nathan Murphy joined Ger and Eoin in studio to discuss all of the weekend's action from Georgia, and registered his surprise at the issue, as well as the timing of the exemption.
"Firstly, we don't know whether he has had his TUE renewed. I don't think he's ever even been asked about this TUE - it sort of went under the radar. Both himself and Justin Rose were named at the same time - Justin Rose had a well-publicised back injury that he was getting painkillers for.
"Patrick Reed [...] this was because he was representing America at the Olympics, this was the reason it became public. This drug, Vyvanse, again brings up this old question about TUEs as to whether the TUE should be a leveller. So if he does suffer from ADHD and it gives him a certain calmness and brings him down to a normal level, then that's fine. But the question is in a sport like golf, where everything is about your nerves and your ability to hold your nerve in the final round - does it give you an advantage?
"The most interesting thing about Patrick Reed's TUE is the date that he was given it. The 15th August 2013 - round one of the 2013 Wyndham Championship. Four days later, he wins his first ever PGA Tour event, beating Jordan Spieth in a play-off."
"Maybe he would have been winning these tournaments two years earlier but for the problems that he was suffering - maybe it was just a leveller, maybe it was a thing he needed. But the very fact that it was first issued on that Thursday of the Wyndham Championship and he goes and beats Jordan Spieth of all people, the man who can in a play-off keep his head [...] I'm just surprised he's never been asked about it in any of these press conferences."
