Reed plans to ignite fire under US Ryder Cup team

Patrick Reed, who famously put finger to lips and shushed European fans in his 2014 Ryder Cup debut, says he expects to produce more antics to fire up US teammates and fans starting Friday.

The Americans will try to snap a three-Cup losing streak at Hazeltine in the 41st edition of the men's team golf showdown and Reed will add to the legacy he began two years ago at Gleneagles.

"Any time I can wear red, white and blue, it means everything," Reed said Thursday. "It brings out even more competitiveness in me and even more fire. Hopefully I can have that feed onto the team."

Reed, who went 3-0 with one halved at Gleneagles in a losing cause, definitely will try to spark US fans in support.

"Hopefully, I get the crowd going, but I have nothing planned," Reed said. "It's going to be like how it was at Gleneagles. I didn't have that planned. It just came out of that fire and competitiveness I have in me and it happened to get the crowd going.

"When I get in these kind of situations, I'm going to do something, I'm sure. If you sit here and try to plan something or try to do something, now all of a sudden you're taking away from preparing for the golf and doing things that actually are more important, like going out and winning your point."

Reed, ranked eighth in the world, took his fifth career victory last week at the Barclays. He has been known for over-exuberance, such as when he declared himself a top-five player in the world after a 2014 triumph.

"I'm a fiery guy. I'm a competitive guy. So I hope to start getting these guys fired up even more," Reed said.

"Being me, I might push them over the limit on trying to fire them up even more. That's who I am."

It's a fine line from fire to ashes, but he hopes to stoke the flame without having it blow up on the Americans, losers in eight of the past 10 Ryder Cups.

"I love match play. Any time I get in this kind of one-on-one battle, it always seems to bring the best out in me," Reed said.

- 'We're pushing each other' -

Reed paired well with fellow newcomer Jordan Spieth in 2014, in part because they compete so hard against each other even as teammates.

"If I'm with Jordan, I'm going to go out and try to beat him on every hole," Reed said. "It's just one of those things. Every time we play, we're pushing each other so hard trying to beat each other, that brings the best golf out in us. If we do our job by taking care of ourselves by beating each other, hopefully we'll close out and win our point pretty early."

After road starts at Presidents and Ryder Cups plus the Rio Olympics, Reed is ready to finally play before home fans.

"Being able to represent my country in the US is just going to be awesome. I can't wait to get out there and just hear the crowds just going crazy and all the U-S-A chants," Reed said.

Source : AFP