Patrick Reed was once the fiery heart of Team USA, but now he won’t even be watching them from the comfort of his own home.
The LIV golfer famously went toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy in singles in 2016 and has also shushed the fans, with his on-course personality providing the perfect fuel to the Ryder Cup fire.
Reed played in the Irish Open this year, despite already knowing his hopes of an unlikely captain’s pick had faded, even though Keegan Bradley opted against picking himself on the 12-man team.
Now, the US star is set to cheer on Team USA from home, but he revealed exactly why he won’t be watching his old teammates.
Patrick Reed says he won’t watch Team USA at Ryder Cup, not even from home
Reed’s late-September schedule is not as busy as he hoped it would be, and the 35-year-old says he won’t be watching on from home
“I’ll definitely be rooting for the boys. But it’s one of those things that I don’t watch golf when I’m at home,’ Reed said.
“I play so much. Because I’m always out practising and grinding. If I start watching golf, I start turning the mindset on to analyse and to do all that.
“I realised that when I had my two little ones, I mean, there’s life outside of golf. So, when I’m not practising or playing, I’m home being a dad, being a husband, being a father and all that.
“Just having a good time rather than trying to be so tuned in to golf and watching other golfers play.”
Reed has played on three Ryder Cups, losing twice and winning one, with an impressive individual record of seven wins, three defeats, and two ties, meaning he’s won eight points to leave him 17th on the all-time US points scorers list.
Reed’s decision not to watch the tournament is a curious one, as he clearly had hopes of being on the side but is now refusing to tune in to the action.
US Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed admits he had hoped for a captain’s pick from Keegan Bradley
Reed would have been an unlikely pick, but it wouldn’t have been totally unmerited.
The 2018 Masters champ has a sole win on LIV this year, coming in Dallas, and had a top-three finish at Augusta, along with seven LIV top-ten finishes.
He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and The Open, however. Despite that, he had hoped the call would come from Bradley.
“Yeah, I mean, I was hoping,” Reed said.
“I knew it was going to be an outside shot just because of not being able to get points and things like that, just being on LIV.”
Despite being on LIV, Bryson DeChambeau was able to qualify automatically to Team USA, proving it can be done if you peak in the right tournament to accrue those all-important points.
Reed’s only real flourish in form outside of LIV tournaments came at Augusta earlier this year, where he snuck into third spot but failed to capitalise on any momentum and will now be left at home, decidedly not watching from afar, it seems