With only hours to go for the Ryder Cup, the conversations about the Captain’s picks haven’t died down yet. Apart from controversial picks, the reluctance to pick LIV golfers has also been a major talking point in the issue.

Amid these talks,  LIV golfer Patrick Reed who didn’t earn a spot on the team recently received another major blow to his expectations. The Ryder Cup veteran had an ongoing legal battle against some media personalities and houses, and an update on that case has dropped.

Patrick Reed witnesses a disappointing verdict on a defamation suit

A judgment has been passed dismissing Reed’s claim that the entities mentioned in his plea had defamed him. The verdict clearly stated that the 50 statements listed in the document as defamatory have failed to meet the required conditions to be deemed so. The suit was against Golf Channel’s Members Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack, Eamon Lynch, and Shane Bacon in addition to a few other media houses. 

Explaining the judgment, the verdict admitted that some of the statements listed can be considered over the top in nature, However, some of them were not about Reed. Some others are about LIV Golf but do not directly talk about Patrick Reed. Others were classified as either opinion or permissible rhetorical hyperbole. 

The verdict concluded by stating that while Reed may be frustrated at the negativity surrounding him, his plea failed to offer any actionable claim. Notably, his earlier filings were rejected and Reed was instructed to refile the plea with statements that validate his claim. The verdict comes after his most recent filing on the 27th of this month. 

Besides this, Reed is not a part of this year’s Ryder Cup team. However, he probably isn’t that upset about the Ryder Cup situation though. He was not a part of the Ryder Cup 2021. This is despite him playing three Ryder Cup events and showing extraordinary performances in them. 

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Speaking of him, Jordan Spieth recently said in a recent interview that Reed was someone who could internalize crowd heckling and turn his game up with that energy. Ironically Spieth has a history with Reed, and the reason why he hasn’t played the Ryder Cup since 2018.

The controversy over the 2018 Ryder Cup

The Jordan Speith and Patrick Reed pair was a major success in the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups. In 2018, however, this pair split up. From Reed’s end, his wife had written on social media that Reed never expressed disinterest in playing alongside Spieth. Allegations were made that Spieth was the one who stepped back.

With Spieth not along, Reed and Tiger Woods paired up for the first two days in the morning. In the afternoon sessions, Reed was rested. He won the singles match that year, and was among the four Americans that won the Sunday matches, out of 12. 

Reed outright expressed his disappointment in being benched for two sessions. And he skipped the previous year’s Ryder Cup. Clearly, the man is going through emotionally difficult times. Hope he internalizes this as well and comes back stronger!

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