The Ryder Cup was an eye-opener for many who love golf but for former Masters winner Patrick Reed, what he saw from his home fans was simply embarrassing.
Reed looked on from afar after failing to get a pick from Keegan Bradley and in the end, was left feeling helpless as Team Europe won out.
Of course, there was a stirring last day fightback from the USA but overall, it was a tournament dominated by the Europeans.
However, while the golf on display was excellent, the same cannot be said for the behaviour of the American fans on the course at Bethpage Black.
And looking back on that very issue, Reed has laid into his home crowd.
Patrick Reed criticizes US golf fans after the Ryder Cup
A lot has been of the behaviour from American fans since the Ryder Cup finished.
Indeed, Gary Player has recently called for the Ryder Cup to be scrapped, such was his disdain at the antics he saw.
Now, speaking in a telling interview for Bunkered, Patrick Reed has revealed why it really riles him at the moment when it comes to fan behaviour.
“I mean, as a dad, it’s a lot harder. My kids don’t deserve it. I mean, I don’t deserve it. My family doesn’t deserve it. I feel like the world we live in these days, it’s always negative type of attitude – always trying to bring people down and attack people rather than trying to build everyone up. So it’s just confusing to me why everyone acts the way they do. So for me, it’s just trying to always talk to my kiddos and everything and just be like, ‘hey, just look at the positive sides.’ If we’re living the right way, doing the things that we feel is the right thing to do, that’s all you can do,” Reed admitted.
“You’re always going to have people that agree with you and don’t agree with you. It’s impossible to sit here and try to please everyone. If you do that, you’re going to live a miserable life because it’s never going to work.
“But I feel like everybody needs to take a hard look in the mirror and take a step back. Because I mean, the amount of suicides and the amount of mental health issues and things like that from all the verbal abuse back from everyone, from social media to in person, it’s just uncalled for.
“There’s a lot of things that people say that you sit there and you go: “if we weren’t at a golf course, there wasn’t a rope right there and you say something like that to some people, you’d be flat on your back.” Yet they think that they can just say whatever they want, they can get away with it. I feel like that’s a problem that needs to be fixed and people need to hold other people more accountable for it. Hopefully at some point that turns around, not just for me, for everyone. It’s not needed. It’s not wanted.”
Speaking specifically on what happened at the Ryder Cup in New York, Reed admitted that it was an embarrassing spectacle for Americans.
“The way I heard the fans acted in New York was uncalled for. It’s embarrassing as an American. I mean, you don’t do that. You don’t act the way you did, say the things you say.
“Stuff like that that needs to be looked at, needs to be checked. It’s supposed to be a gentleman’s game and you go out there and some of the things that people say, it’s just appalling.”
Patrick Reed has to be in contention for Adare Manor in 2027
Quite who the American Ryder Cup captain will be in 2027 remains to be seen but there is some scope for this USA team to be changed again.
There are some fine players in the ranks for Team USA and they have plenty of depth when it comes to selecting a 12-man squad.
However, the experience and quality that someone like Patrick Reed could bring to the table is not to be underestimated.
Reed is a proven winner around the world and crucially, in Ryder Cups.
On the whole, you have to suggest that Keegan Bradley was wrong not to select ‘Captain America’ for Bethpage and ultimately, it was one that came back to bite the Americans.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
