AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta National Golf Club has a way of forcing everyone who sets foot on its ground – inside or outside the ropes – to drop their guard, break up their everyday rhythms and let all their senses take in the scene.

For patrons, that multiplies in the technology-free environment, with the entire gallery finely attuned to what’s in front of them. For the golfers, the challenge and nuance of the course activate every golfing sense imaginable, which is exactly what 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed looks forward to the most.

“I feel like anytime I get here, I get out of being that robot and just kind of be creative, hit golf shots, and play golf and kind of what you see,” Reed said Monday. “Because of that, it's one of those places that I love to come every year.”

It’s why Reed has had so much success at Augusta National. Nobody will mistake him for the longest hitter or the game’s best ball-striker.

The nine-time TOUR winner thrives when golf becomes what it is in its most simple form: a game, which requires myriad shots, excellent recovery and patience.

It’s difficult to argue with the results. Reed has five career top-12 finishes at the Masters, including three straight. He finished solo-third last year, holing out for eagle on the 17th hole on Sunday to vault up the leaderboard. He returns to Augusta National with better form than he’s had in years, leaving him bullish about adding another Masters to his trophy case if he can continue to embrace his cerebral side.

“It's one of those golf courses that you can't hit just one golf shot, you have to play golf kind of old-school way,” Reed said. “You have to hit shots, different shapes, different flights and everything. I feel like it's the best test of golf we play all year round. For a guy that's played just about everywhere in the world, just about, it's one of those places that I say hands down it's the best test of golf and best golf course I've ever played.”

Reed’s inclusion in the pre-tournament press conference lineup was noteworthy. The Masters does well to get almost every participant in the field in front of a microphone at some point, though a vast majority of them don’t get the distinction of coming into the press center and fielding questions where the winner will field them in less than a week with the green jacket on their shoulders. Reed has been noticeably absent from these moments, at least early in the week, but after the start to his 2026, it would have been noticeable to leave him off.

Reed’s turn of form came around the same time he declared it a goal to return to the PGA TOUR. He’s quickly manifested that goal, playing exceptionally well on the DP World Tour and paving his pathway back to the U.S. via a top finish in the Race to Dubai. It’s hard to be much better than he has. Reed won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and the Qatar Masters in February. In between the wins, Reed also finished runner-up at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. He leads the DP World Tour Race to Dubai, in pole position to grab one of the 10 TOUR cards given to the top DP World Tour finishers not already exempt.

That Reed eventually gets his card appears more of a formality than merely a possibility, an exciting development for the 35-year-old American.

“When I was over there in Dubai and playing, I really just kind of was sitting back and realizing that I wanted to get back and not only join -- have an opportunity back on the PGA TOUR, but get back to the traditional way of golf and playing,” Reed said. “When I stood there in Dubai, that Saturday, the entire range is full, and then guys just start disappearing, and you're the last man on that tee box. Then you're walking to the tee, you're the last name announced, and you've lost the lead because someone is 5-under through eight. All those just rushes and those scenarios, kind of going back into playing golf that way, where you're going out there and you're having the battles between not just yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard. For me, I wanted that back, I wanted that adrenaline back, and those feelings.”

Before those feelings return full-time on the PGA TOUR next year, Reed will experience those feelings this week, where he appears primed to put himself in contention again for Masters title No. 2.

“The one jacket is getting a little lonely,” Reed joked. “Might need one more.”