Colin Sheridan: Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed rules controversy a reminder of reputation's importance in sport

Last week, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed were bound by something altogether more complicated than blood; A rules scandal

Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy after Reed won the Masters in 2018. They’re like brothers separated at birth, writes our columnist, pitching a movie of ‘East of Eden’ meets ‘Tin Cup’ for them. Picture: David Goldman/AP

If golf’s PGA Tour was a movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed would be brothers, separated at birth.

One — McIlroy — would be inherently good; a flawed but relatable man, with a swing silkier than a charmeuse scarf. He’d make his grades, look after mum and dad, marry the right girl, and build a rehabilitation centre for flightless birds on the back of his winnings. The other — Reed — would be the delinquent dropout; talented but tortured, the prodigal son of a sport that puts good manners over everything else.