Kevin Van Valkenburg, ESPN writer, took to Twitter to answer the question on most people’s mind: Why Patrick Reed doesn’t deserve to be on the Ryder Cup team. A tweet booing Steve Stricker instigated Valkenburg to make his arguments public in favour of Stricker’s decision.
The outrage followed when Patrick Reed failed to make the 2021 Ryder Cup team. Reed, who for his past stellar performances at the Ryder Cup, has gained himself the title of ‘Captain America’, did not automatically qualify. Moreover, his name was omitted from the captain’s wildcard picks and thus, he lost his chance to play at his 4th Ryder Cup.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
So, not going to dunk on this specific piece because Andy seems like a nice fellow and we can agree to disagree. But let’s unpack the case for Reed, and the case against. Because man, at some point, I feel like Reed defenders are not willing to accept that 2016 was forever ago. https://t.co/HCezIn01JR
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) September 9, 2021
In his tweets, Valkenburg stressed on the fact that although Reed’s past performances at the cup have been praise-worthy, he is not in shape. He was suffering from pneumonia in the past month, and in his own words, feared for his life. He went on to say that Reed’s game has deteriorated in the last few years and even criticized his selection for the President’s Cup in 2019.
What do the others have to say about Patrick Reed’s omission?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
“That was a very, very difficult call,” Stricker admitted. “Kind of lost sleep over that one. He’s a tremendous competitor. He brings a lot to match-play golf. His record here at the Ryder Cup is pretty darned good…It was just the uncertainty of his health and really the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch. I apologized many times to him and just wanted to make sure that he knew it was a very difficult decision.”
A fan said via Twitter, “This was the best decision Stricker made; keeping Reed off the team.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
What do you think of the decision? Let us know in the comments below!
Read More- Top 5 Golfers Who Were Snubbed From the U.S. Team for the Upcoming Ryder Cup