Patrick Reed is far from the most popular player in the professional game, but he has actually been a huge favourite amongst American fans during his three Ryder Cup appearances.
Reed is an elite player. He won The Masters in 2018 and has nine PGA Tour wins, three DP World Tour victories and a solitary LIV Golf triumph to his name.
However, it’s fair to argue that his best performances throughout his professional career have actually come at the Ryder Cup.
Reed made his debut in the competition at Gleneagles in 2014, played his second Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in 2016 and his final appearance was in Paris in 2018.
He possesses a 100 per cent singles record, with three wins from his three Ryder Cup appearances.
The LIV star beat Henrik Stenson 1 up in 2014, got the better of Rory McIlroy by a score of 1 up in 2016 and defeated Tyrrell Hatton 3&2 in 2018.
He is an absolute pitbull when it comes to playing in the Ryder Cup but his performance in 2016 was on a whole other level entirely.
When Patrick Reed became ‘Captain America’ at the 2016 Ryder cup
The United States dominated Team Europe at Hazeltine nine years ago.
After the two foursomes and two four-ball sessions had been played on Saturday evening, the Americans led by a score of 9.5-6.5, so there was definitely everything still to play for on Sunday.
Reed went out first and was drawn to play European powerhouse McIlroy.
After seven holes of their match, they were all square as they headed over to the 186-yard par-three eighth hole.
McIlroy hit his tee shot to around 70 feet from the pin, while Reed hit a lovely shot into around 25 feet.
Incredibly, the Northern Irishman rolled his putt into the middle of the cup in what seemed at the time like a huge turning point in his match against Reed, and indeed the Ryder Cup as a whole.
McIlroy went crazy after he holed the monster putt, cupping his ear with his hand in the direction of the American fans.
However, what happened next ended up swinging the momentum of the game in Reed’s favour. Incredibly, the American holed his putt on top of McIlroy’s and proceeded to mimic his counterpart’s celebration, as the American fans in the galleries went wild.
It truly was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the Ryder Cup.
What was incredible about it, though, was the way that the players fist-pumped each other after leaving the green, proving that the gentlemen’s spirit that the competition was founded on was very much still alive and kicking.
Reed’s performance at Hazeltine was one of the best displays of golf in the history of Ryder Cup singles matches.
The United States ended up winning by an incredibly convincing margin – 17-11 – and that would not have been possible had Reed not gone out first and set the tone for his team.
Patrick Reed’s Ryder Cup record
Reed clearly thrives when it comes to the ‘mano a mano’ format.
The LIV golfer possesses the never-say-die attitude required to succeed at the Ryder Cup and his record is evidence of that.
| Results | Reed’s totals |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Halves | 2 |
| Total points | 8 |
There were certain sections of American fans who were calling for Reed to be included in Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup team for the showdown with Team Europe at Bethpage Black.
He won in Dallas back in June and finished off the season with four consecutive top-20 finishes after that victory.
Perhaps Bradley would have been tempted to pick the 35-year-old if he had won one more time after his Dallas triumph.
It wasn’t to be for Reed in the end but given his Ryder Cup record, his name will always come up every two years when Ryder Cup captain’s pick chatter begins.