Patrick Reed and the P-whip factor

Patrick Reed is a player on the PGA golf tour, and evidently a rising young star. Last year he joined some elite company in the world of golf by becoming only the fifth player to win 4 tournaments before reaching the age of 25. The others are quite familiar names. Woods, Mickelson, McIlroy and Garcia. Little more than a month ago he won his fifth tourney. Very impressive stuff on the links but there's another side to Reed that is, shall we say, somewhat dubious.

In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, scribe Alan Shipnuck penned a lengthy article about Reed's life that was interesting, and certainly telling, on another level.

With apologies to Shipnuck and SI, here are a few factoids in no particular order that were mentioned.

Reed got married quite young (22) to his current wife Justine in December of 2012. In the earliest stages of his pro career, Justine was carrying his bag -- sometimes known as caddying.

But she quickly got knocked up -- sometimes known as becoming pregnant. Not so long after the "I dos" Patrick Reed was a daddy to a baby girl.

Of course being seriously preggers and toting around a heavy golf bag all day don't usually mix well together --  and then there was the new mom thing after the blessed event. In short, Justine bowed out, at least temporarily, from the caddying gig.

But never fear, that job went to her younger brother Kessler. In the meantime, Justine still plots hole-to-hole stragegy with her hubbie, and this is commendable for couples, especially when it comes to playing golf tournaments. Ahem.

To boot, dear Justine also "debriefs" Patrick on any errant shots he may have committed. Further, the Mrs. also is in constant contact with Reed's own swing coach. Basically, she watches her man's every move and critiques it. This -- from a nursing major that used to work in an ER. But she played a little golf in high school and college, so evidently that qualifies her as an expert to fine tune a PGA player's game. Oh my.

Rewinding the Patrick Reed bio tape proves even more telling, and not in a good way.

According to Shipnuck, Patrick Reed's own parents and younger sister Hannah weren't invited to his and Justine's wedding. They had expressed concerns that Patrick was a bit young to "tie the knot", so they got snubbed, likely at Justine's hand. Now c'mon, this wasn't exactly a bunch of moochers trying to ride the financial coattails of a professional athlete. It was his mom, dad, and little sis, for crying out loud. Since when doesn't the groom's family get invited to his wedding?? Worse yet, they have constantly reached out through emails and intermediaries hoping to re-establish contact with their son and brother, but to no avail. Guess who's likely behind that? Can you spell c-o-n-t-r-o-l?

It gets even more pitiful. Justine's sister is the nanny for the baby -- so much for the doting new mom thing -- and her mother travels with them on tour acting as "chief of staff". Reed rents a house for the brood to share and does most of the cooking. Forget his PGA credentials, this guy needs to go back to qualifying school for his Man Card. The poor devil has become hopelessly lost in the P-whipped world.

The absolute clincher? Through a friend, Reed's parents had scored tickets for the 2014 U.S. Open and followed their son throughout the second round. Justine was also in the gallery. So what happened? Walking up to the 18th hole, Reed's mother, father, and little sister were surrounded by cops, escorted off the grounds, and had their tournament badges confiscated by a USGA official. The official told Reed's own mother he was acting on orders from Justine. So since when does a wife in the gallery have the authority to kick the golfer's own family off the course when they have tickets to be there? It was wrong on the part of the USGA to accomodate her wishes and flat-out treacherous/shrewish of Justine to demand in the first place.

So let's see. Justine got knocked up and popped out a kid in short order. Since, she's got her brother, sister, and mother entwined in Patrick's day to day life, with him footing the bills and even cooking their meals. In the meantime, Reed's own family has been totally cut out of the picture.

It's not only wrong, it's outrageous. Patrick Reed may be a world class golfer, but the man hasn't a clue what kind of web has been spun around him by his "loving wife".

Remember Mike Tyson and his marriage to Robin Givens? She had her mom (Ruth Roper) along too as chief of staff. How did that work out? It cost Tyson countless millions to finally get away from them, and he was never the same afterwards. He wound up going to prison, his career went into the dumpster, and they walked happily ever after away with a serious boatload of his money. "Robin" and "Ruthless" seemed to be appropriate names.

Here's hoping Patrick Reed remains in his current P-whipped state of bliss for a lifetime. Because if he ever mans up and takes a good look around, he might just realize what a corner he's been painted into. If things don't work out between him and Justine in the future -- this boy will have a serious cha-ching problem trying to free himself from the cocoon he's already been wrapped up in. Good luck with that if it happens.

But ditching your own parents and little sister because that's what your wife and her clan want you to do?

That's just wrong. Shame on you Patrick Reed.