Patrick Reed’s win at LIV Golf Dallas last month has quietly pushed him into the Ryder Cup conversation. It’s a development that might surprise some golf fans.
Reed sits at No. 36 in U.S. Ryder Cup points despite his LIV Golf results not counting toward qualification. His solo third at the Masters and T-23 at the U.S. Open have boosted him ahead of notable players like Max Homa, Sahith Theegala and Rickie Fowler. He’s currently No. 57 in the Official World Golf Ranking but is coming off a missed cut at the BMW International Open on the DP World Tour.
This week’s LIV event in Spain serves as Reed’s warmup for next week’s Open Championship – his final realistic opportunity to strengthen his case for captain Keegan Bradley’s 12-man team.
“I think it all comes down to next week at The Open,” Reed said Thursday. “Obviously play well here, but go ahead and win the Open Championship, and I believe I’d be inside the top six on points, so I think that would lock it in and allow me to be on the team.”
Reed’s math doesn’t quite add up, though. A win would push him just shy of 7,500 points, which currently ranks 11th. He’ll likely need a captain’s pick – a complicated proposition given his history.
In three Ryder Cup appearances, Reed has compiled an impressive 7-3-2 record. But after the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, he publicly criticized captain Jim Furyk and teammate Jordan Spieth. Then at the 2019 Presidents Cup, heckling directed at Reed over a rules controversy led to his caddie, Kessler Karain, getting into an altercation with a fan. Karain was suspended for Sunday singles. Reed went 0-3 in team play at Royal Melbourne before winning his singles match to help secure the U.S. victory.
It’s worth noting that U.S. teams are 4-2 in Cups with Reed on the roster.
“It’s a hard one to answer,” Reed admitted when asked about his chances of making the team for Bethpage Black.
He later added: “Really the next couple weeks I have to play some solid golf, go out and contend on Sundays, have a chance to win golf tournaments, and if I do that, then hopefully Keegan picks me. But at the end of the day, because we only get the majors that have points for the Ryder Cup, it’s an uphill battle.”
“The good thing is I feel like I’m in a good spot right now as long as I go out and play well in the final major.”
