'Four times now': Massive new claims in Patrick Reed cheating controversy

The cheating saga surrounding Patrick Reed has taken a huge new twist.

Many in the golf world have called out Reed in recent months after his latest rules violation on the PGA Tour.

Now, it’s Peter Kostis’ turn.

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Kostis, a former golf commentator on CBS, said on the “No Laying Up” podcast this week that he has seen Reed improve either his lie or line of play during competition multiple times in person while working a Tour event.

Due to an “unwritten rule” however, Kostis wasn’t allowed to call Reed out for any rules infractions.

“But we could comment if a penalty was called,” Kostis said on the podcast, via ESPN.

“That's the difference between reporting on a story and being a part of a story, right? I've seen Patrick Reed improve his lie up close and personal four times now.

“You can go on YouTube. It's the only time I've ever shut [commentator Gary] McCord up, he didn't know what to say when I said, ‘The lie that I saw originally wouldn't have allowed for this shot.’

“Because [Reed] put four, five clubs behind the ball, kind of faking whether he's going to hit this shot or that shot — and by the time he hit a freaking 3-wood out of there. Which, when I saw it, it was a sand wedge layup originally, right?”

A number of internet sleuths found the incident Kostis seemed to be referencing.

Reed has won seven times on Tour in his career, most recently at The Northern Trust last year.

The 29-year-old has appeared on Tour six times so far this season, and has finished inside the top-10 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Farmers Insurance Open.

While competing at the Hero World Challenge - an event not sanctioned by the PGA Tour - in December, Reed was assessed a two-stroke penalty after he blatantly hit the sand in the bunker with his club twice while taking practice swings, a very clear violation of the rules.

He was not hit with the penalty until after the round when tournament officials saw it on camera — which clearly showed him moving sand from behind his ball to improve his lie.

He wasn’t very apologetic about it, either, and actually blamed the Golf Channel cameras for the penalty.

Kostis said he has seen that move from Reed multiple times in competition.

While he isn’t sure if Reed is doing it on purpose, he hasn’t seen anyone else on Tour use the same strategy.

“I saw him, I was in the tower at 16 at [Torrey Pines] on the par-3 during a Golf Channel telecast and he hit over the green, and he did the same thing,” Kostis said on the podcast.

“Put three or four clubs behind ... and it was really a treacherous shot; nobody had gotten it close all day long from over there. And by the time he was done, I could read 'Callaway' on the golf ball from the tower.

“But I can't say anything. I can't be the story, right? Now I'm done, I don't really care.

“There was another incident at Hartford and another incident at San Diego. I was there, and I saw them all ... I'm not even sure he knows that he's doing it, sometimes. Maybe he does, I don't know. I'm not going to assign intent.”

Kostis joins Koepka in calling out Reed

Kostis is just the latest in the golf world to call Reed out this week.

Brooks Koepka, the No. 2 player in the world, bluntly called Reed out for his bunker debacle during an interview on SiriusXM on Monday.

When asked if Reed was cheating at the Hero World Challenge, Koepka replied, “Yeah.”

“I mean, I don’t know what he was doing, building sand castles in the sand,” Koepka said.

“You know where your club is. I mean, I took three months off and I can promise you I know if I touched sand … It’s one of these things where you know.

“If you look at the video, obviously he grazes the sand twice and then he still chops down on it.”

Ryan Young - Yahoo Sports US