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Patrick Reed is a name that is synonymous with the USA and the Ryder Cup and with an overall record that reads seven wins, three defeats and two halves it’s no surprise that he was nicknamed ‘Captain America’ by his team-mates. The former Masters champion can also boast a perfect singles record, having won all three of his matches, but in 2018 his light was dimmed after a sobering defeat at the hands of the Europeans in France.
The USA arrived at the Le Golf National as holders but were comprehensively outplayed, losing 17.5-10.5 to Thomas Bjorn’s team, ensuring that the Americans still haven’t won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993.
Reed suffered two defeats in the Friday and Saturday fourballs whilst paired with Tiger Woods. They were beaten on both occasions by Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. And although he won his singles match against Tyrell Hatton on Sunday, the cup was already lost by the time he put a point on the board.
After suffering the humiliation of such a heavy defeat, it wasn’t long before Reed made his own feelings public. He claimed that he had wanted to be paired with Jordan Speith but Speith did not want to play with him.
Instead, captain Jim Furyk put Speith with his close friend Justin Thomas, leading to Reed claiming that he had been “blindsided” by the US captain. Speaking to the New York Times, Reed said: “The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me. I don’t have any issue with Jordan.
“When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me as long as it works and it sets up the team for success. He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”
That assertion was backed up by Reed and Speith’s record. As a pair they had won four previous matches and tied two, losing just once. They also had four wins together in the Presidents Cup.
But Reed’s claims about wanting to play with tripe major champion Speith were emphatically dismissed by another member of the USA team. After seeing Reed’s comments. The source told the New York Post: “He is so full of s**t. Blindsided my a**. He begged to play with Tiger.”
Reed claimed that all-time great Woods had apologised to him after they lost their Friday fourball match to Molinari and Fleetwood. But he also appeared miffed to have been left out of the afternoon foursomes sessions on both days.
“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice,” he said.
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But when he lost with Woods 3&1 to Fleetwood and Molinari on Saturday morning, he had played poorly and found the water hazards on numerous occasions.
“He would have shot 83 on his own ball Saturday,” the New York Post source said. “He totally screwed Tiger. He has no clue how to play team golf. I saw firsthand how bad of a team player he was. Eleven players understood the concept of team golf and only one didn’t. Unfortunately, that one proved to be too costly for the team to overcome.
“I feel so bad for Jim, because he was an unreal captain. He would have run through a wall for all 12 of the guys. Unfortunately, there were only 11 players that would have returned the favour.”
Reed missed out on a place in the 2021 Ryder Cup team as he continued to recover from pneumonia and will not be in Rome this week following his defection to the LIV Golf Tour.
Zach Johnson may be without his Captain America but at least he won’t have to worry about who he would need to pair the outspoken star with this time.
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