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Patrick Reed not worried about team chemistry after 2018 Ryder Cup controversy: "That was all put to bed"

November 13, 2019
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Tiger Woods naming himself as a Presidents Cup captain's pick got most of the attention, but the 15-time major champ's most debatable selection was choosing Patrick Reed. At No. 12 in the Presidents Cup final points standings and with his game in good form of late—not to mention the nickname Captain America—Reed certainly had credentials worthy of being one of the four picks. But there was also the matter of what happened in France at last year's Ryder Cup. More specifically, what happened after.

Following Team USA's disappointing defeat to Europe at Le Golf National, Reed made some pretty candid and critical comments to Karen Crouse of The New York Times. Reed wasn't happy with captain Jim Furyk for sitting him for two sessions and splitting up his pairing with Jordan Spieth. He took issue with Spieth not wanting to play with him. And he even shifted the blame of losing two matches while paired with Woods to ... Woods.

About a month later, Reed was asked if he still deserved the Captain America moniker despite his disappointing performance in Paris and his controversial comments. "Still 3-0 in singles," he responded. According to Reed, though, the matter has been addressed and his presence on this year's team won't have a negative effect on the squad's chemistry. When asked on Tuesday if these issues had been brought up recently by Woods or would have any impact in Australia next month, here was Reed's response:

"Honestly, no. Tiger and I and all the guys talked after France way before," said the fiery player, seemingly shushing this notion. "That was all put to bed, and we all talked about it. We've all moved on, and we're all just really getting excited for this year and to focus on going out and doing what we're supposed to do, and that's to play the best golf we can, win points and have fun while doing it."

And what about his potential playing partner? Spieth didn't make the team, but Woods did. Would that duo give it another go despite going 0-2 in France?

"Yeah, I mean, I would love to play with any of the guys, whether it's Tiger—any of the guys," Reed said. "Really it's going to come down to who we feel like as a team best suits [audio interruption]. It wouldn't be right for me to say that I want to play with Tiger or I want to play with [audio interruption]. I mean, as I said, for me, honestly, it would be unfair for me to say whether I want to—that I should play with Tiger or play with this guy or that guy because we haven't seen the golf course. It all depends on the golf course on who matches up well with each other depending on the strengths of the golf course, etc. Honestly for me, I would go to battle with any one of the guys on the team and feel confident that we could go and do our job, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to who we feel like the best match-up is for each golf course."

Whether they play together at Royal Melbourne (Dec. 12-15) or not, Captain America and his new captain will be united in their ultimate goal: to quiet the home crowd and improve Team USA's record in the biennial event to 11-1-1.