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Steve Stricker says that Patrick Reed took the news that he would not be receiving a pick for this month’s Ryder Cup match like a “true champion”.
That doesn’t mean he necessarily agreed with the US captain’s decision.
Reed, 31, was surprisingly overlooked by Stricker for one of his six wild cards, the skipper preferring instead to go with Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth and rookies Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler.
Former Masters champion Reed had been heavily favoured to get the nod on account of his talismanic performances in the match over the past few years. Since making his debut in 2014 at Gleneagles, Reed has amassed a 7-3-2 record, earning the nickname ‘Captain America’ in the process.
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However, that wasn’t enough to persuade Stricker, the United States captain explaining that question marks over Reed’s health following a recent stay in hospital and a lack of tournament rounds tilted the scales against him.
Whilst Reed hasn’t publicly commented on that decision, his social media activity since the picks were announced should leave people in no doubt as to his feelings.
The nine-time PGA Tour winner’s Twitter account has liked a huge number of tweets from other users questioning Stricker’s decision to sideline him.
Amongst them were this tweet from a user with the handle @JRREV2 who wrote: “Wow where is Patrick @PReedGolf all you guys snubbed Captain America that would be like the European Team not picking Poulter or Garcia are you all for real guys it’s a popularity contest by the young guns this failure is all yours now Steve you are the team captain Politics.”
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Another tweet liked by Reed’s account said: “Wait, WTF @stevestricker. @PReedGolf was left off the Ryder cup team? How the hell do you leave the best short game in world off @RyderCupUSA”
A claim from another user that Reed had been “stabbed in the back” by Stricker also got a like from the account.
Reed was at the centre of some controversy following the most recent edition of the Ryder Cup in 2018.
In the wake of the United States’ humbling at the hands of an inspired European team, he claimed that Jordan Spieth didn’t want to play with him and questioned captain Jim Furyk’s decision to bench him for two of the five sessions, saying: “For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice.”
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His wife and mother-in-law also waded into the debate.
Since that match, Reed has also found himself at the centre of two separate “cheating” controversies, with questions raised over incidents at the Hero World Challenge in December 2019 and the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. The former saw him widely jeered by supporters at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia and caused his caddie – who confronted one of hecklers – sent home early from the competition.
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