The American’s 15-under-par saw him beat compatriots Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler to his first ever major title.
The world No 24 overcame several minor worries but ended the weekend a shot up on Fowler – following on from finishing joint-49th and tied for 22nd in the two previous occasions he has made the cut.
But despite Spieth almost closing a gap that started at nine shots to start the day, and Fowler producing his best ever performance at Augusta yet as his agonising wait for a maiden major goes on, the controversial Reed overcame the pressure in the final round to come out on top.
And Reed believes the reason for his triumph was his self-belief and trust in his strategy.
He told reporters: “I think the biggest thing was that, of course I felt like the game was in a little bit better shape coming in, but just [using] the experiences from in the past.
“I knew the golf course a little better, had a little bit more experience round the course this year coming in. Really my mindset coming in was to stick to my game plan, play golf.
“I stuck to my game plan all week, even today I didn’t stray from it at all throughout the entire day.
“That was something I needed to learn, especially at a place like this, how important it is to stick to what I believe and how I feel I needed to play the golf course.
“It gave me the reward of winning my first green jacket.”
Reed added that he has learned to calm himself down psychologically to deal with the pressure at majors.
He explained: “The biggest thing was I put too much pressure on myself.
“I went out there and I tried so hard to get the ball in the hole. I tried so hard to hit the perfect shots, that going into this week, I was just like, ‘Hey, it’s golf. Go play.’
“I preached that to myself the entire week. I had my caddie remind me of that the entire week. Just be you, play golf. If you get riled up, show it. If you aren’t happy about something, it’s all right, just play golf.
“I was able to stay in that kind of mindset the entire week and especially through the first three rounds.
“I haven’t really had much success in shooting low rounds out here at Augusta and to be able to shoot three of my lowest rounds the first three days, it showed a lot.
“I knew because of that coming into today, that I really had a really good chance to win a golf tournament.”
