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Arriving in France this year, Patrick Reed had suffered only one defeat in nine previous Ryder Cup appearances, winning seven points in the process.
Safe to say, then, that he well and truly earned the right to be called ‘Captain America’.
However, he endured a turgid time at Le Golf National, contributing only one point from three matches Europe inflicted the ‘Pounding in Paris’ on the United States.
That’s to say nothing of the fall-out that ensued, with Reed, his wife and even his mother-in-law publicly criticising, amongst other, US captain Jim Furyk and Jordan Spieth for the Americans’ capitulation in the French capital.
• OPINION – In defence of Patrick Reed
• Every US Ryder Cup player rated from 1 to 10 (look away, Phil)
All of which has damaged Reed’s reputation as the United States’ talisman. Not that he necessarily agrees with that.
Ahead of this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, the Masters champion was asked if he felt as though his ‘Captain America’ status had been damaged by this year’s Ryder Cup.
His response was perfectly ‘Patrick’.
“No – I’m still 3-0 in [Ryder Cup] singles,” he said. “[Being called ‘Captain America’] is something that I love and cherish and hopefully will continue playing really good golf when I represent the country and keep on bringing it in those events.
“Being 3-0 in singles is something cool because you always want to feel like you can be counted on toward the end, especially during a Ryder Cup.”
Memo to US captain-in-waiting Steve Stricker: use this guy wisely at Whistling Straits in 2020.
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