“I was looking at him like I was about to light the room up like Phil in ’14.”
For those that may not be aware of the reference from Team USA star Patrick Reed – Phil Mickelson famously launched into an attack on then Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson after his side’s defeat at the 2014 tournament staging in Gleneagles.
On Sunday, in Paris, Reed was sorely tempted to ‘light the room up’ like Mickelson and tell the world why he had not been paired with Jordan Spieth in the Friday and Saturday matches.
Word first started filtering out on Friday that Spieth had told US captain Jim Furyk he preferred to plat fourballs and foursomes with his friend and teammate Justin Thomas. That call worked out well as they won three points from their four matches.
As for Reed, he was teamed up with Tiger Woods and they lost the two matches they were sent out to play. On Saturday night, weary of claims Reed did not want to play with Spieth, the Masters champion’s wife, Justine fired a salvo.
Patrick Reed’s wife sensationally suggests Jordan Spieth ‘did not want to play’ with him
On Singles Sunday, Reed defeated Tyrrell Hatton to deliver a point to the USA while Spieth was annihilated by Thorbjorn Olesen. It all paled into the bigger significance of a thumping European win – 17.5 to 10.5.
At Team USA’s final press conference, Spieth jumped in ahead of the grinning Reed when a reporter asked why their successful partnership from previous team tournaments had been split up. He said:
“We were totally involved with every decision that was made. This was a… Jim allowed it to be a player-friendly environment, and we were involved and we thought that the teams that came out of our, you know, four-man squad.”
Reed did not get a chance to air his views in the media tent but he did find an opportunity to get his side of the story out. In his New York Times interview, Reed commented:
“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.”
Reed was not finished there. He took aim at Furyk and mentioned a sign hanging in USA’s team room that he feels was blithely ignored.
“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am,” he said. “I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice,
“Every day, I saw ‘Leave your egos at the door’. They (Europe) do that better than us.”
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