Patrick Reed is ready for what lies ahead as he takes up his unofficial role as leader of the USA side looking to end 25 winless years abroad in the Ryder Cup.
The 2018 Masters champion has become something of a legend in the biennial competition and makes no effort to tone down his antics which appear to lift his game to the highest level.
‘Coming overseas, Captain America, I was supposed to be the villain, just like when Ian Poulter comes to the States, he’s the villain,’ Reed said.
‘So you expect to hear the fans kind of go back and forth with you. If it’s not happening, it probably means you’re not playing very well. I love it when we can interact with the fans and get going, because there’s no other event that you can do that at.’
The first tee at Le Golf National can seat some 7,000 fans, something that excites the 28-year-old.
‘The first tee is going to be just so much fun,’ Reed said.
‘I can’t wait to hear all the little cheers and just little quirky things they can do and say, because it’s always fun coming overseas and hearing all the little playful jabs and chants that they have going on.’
The volatile American knows that the louder the fans get, the greater the respect for his game.
‘There’s really nothing to get underneath my skin, that’s for sure.
‘In 2014, with how the fans were on the first tee, just the bantering back and forth and the chants, I thought were very clever and very fun, because they know that line of respect and they always are above that line. They never actually cross it and get disrespectful.
‘One thing I cherish when I come overseas is they know how to give jabs and take shots at you back and forth, and they do it in a respectful way. That just speaks volumes of the type of people and sports fans and passion they have for sports.’
Reed famously beat Rory McIlroy in the first Sunday singles match at Hazeltine in 2016, leading his team to a 17-11 rout of the Europeans.
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
