One of the first duties for newly-appointed U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker was to reach out to Patrick Reed and make sure the acrimony surrounding the September defeat to Europe in Paris would not be an issue going forward.
Reed told the New York Times after the 16 ½ to 11 ½ defeat that he was upset he had not been paired with Jordan Spieth during the competition.
Saying it was “one of the things on my to-do list,” Stricker said he had called Reed prior to being appointed Wednesday as the 2020 captain at Whistling Straits.
“I’ve already reached out to Patrick and we’ve had a good conversation,” Stricker said. “As far as he’s concerned, and I am, too, that’s been handled. He apologized and spoke to the players. He spoke to me and I kind of asked him what to expect from him, too. He said, “You know what, I’ve got your guy’s back. I’m there for the team.’
“He’s very committed. He knew what happened, he was not comfortable from Paris and he didn’t like how that all transformed, what happened.
“I said, listen, we’re here about moving on and going forward and let’s point toward this next team, and I hope to have him a part of this team if he’s playing well. And a long ways to go yet.”
Tiger Woods, this year’s Presidents Cup captain, also said he spoke with Reed in the aftermath of the Ryder Cup. They went 0-2 together as teammates in Paris.