Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed Give US a Glimmer of Hope for Future Ryder Cups
GLENEAGLES, Scotland — If the United States had six Jordan Spieths and six Patrick Reeds on their team this week, the odds are they would have won the Ryder Cup on foreign soil for the first time since 1993.
As it is, they were condemned to a 16.5-11.5 defeat at Gleneagles, as those around them failed to match their example and deliver the intensity and quality of play required to beat a European side that was motivated, united and in form.
In the aftermath of another disappointing team performance, the two rookies deserved better than to become one aspect of an ugly spat between Phil Mickelson and U.S. captain Tom Watson, a dispute that is likely to run and run following Sunday’s explosive losers’ press conference.
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After Watson mistakenly said Spieth and Reed had delivered 8.5 points for the team, the left-hander felt compelled to point out that though "he is no mathematician," if they really had delivered that number the U.S. team would probably have won (it was actually 3.5, delivering 2.5 from three as a pairing).
It was one part of a deeper philosophical disagreement between the captain and his most senior player—“nobody here was involved in any decision,” Mickelson moaned—but in this aspect at least Watson was along the right lines; Reed and Spieth had unquestionably delivered for their teams in a way others on the squad had conspicuously failed to.
“Patrick and I made a great team this week,” Spieth said. “The captain put his trust in us. We went out there and were able to get the job done.”
“This is the best event I’ve ever played in my life,” Reed added. “I definitely want to be back, and I’ll definitely be trying even harder just to come back.”
After this week at Gleneagles, it would be a surprise if we do not see these two players go on to become major winners. Spieth seems to be a young Watson in many ways: a brilliant golfer both technically and intuitively, with an impressively mature mentality that belies his 21 years. Reed is more volatile emotionally, a trait that would not seem to lend itself to sustained success at the very highest level, but he backed up his various interactions with a partisan crowd on Sunday with a 1-up victory over Henrik Stenson that perhaps deserves better than to be a footnote in another demolition.
Spieth, unfortunately, ran out of gas in the final stretch, squandering an early lead to the more experienced Graeme McDowell in the opening singles of the game. But the fact Watson would even consider putting him out first on such a big stage speaks to the huge potential the Texan has.
He could, and perhaps should, go on to be a multiple-major winner.
He should also go on to be the talisman for the next wave of American Ryder Cup teams. After eight defeats from the last 10 competitions—all of which Mickelson has played in—it is clear that the team will be aided by the phasing out of the failed generation and the emergence of a new vanguard.
In an event that is decided on fine margins, the U.S. keep paying the price for Hunter Mahan’s inability to stay calm down the stretch, for Zach Johnson's and Jim Furyk’s utter blandness on the course and for Bubba Watson’s flighty, unfocused approach in an event that demands teamwork for two of the three days.
We have seen these mistakes time and time again now. The problem is that those players can continue to qualify for the Ryder Cup through their PGA Tour performances—the next U.S. captain will perhaps be hoping some other young guns come through to prevent that from happening.
The Spieth-Reed pairing caught many by surprise this week. It was perhaps the one decision Watson made that would fit the term “inspired.” It was a gut call from the veteran that went right, where so many others backfired.
“They have a great attitude, both of them,” Watson said on Saturday, when asked about his thought process in putting the two together. “They are tough. They are fiery. I like the look in their eyes. There is no deer-in-the-headlights in their eyes.”
On Friday and Saturday, the two youngsters were far and away the most successful on their side. On Sunday, as Spieth fatigued, Reed was the only player to get in the face of his opponent and embrace the stage he was on. He even managed to rile the crowd, fist-pumping himself into a frenzy with every made putt as he eventually pulled out a fantastic victory.
“I gave them the hush sign, which I was doing all in fun to get the guys going and get everyone going,” Reed said. “It was awesome after that. It got the European side really fired up and really roaring, and it got the U.S. side really fired and really roaring.”
Unfortunately, Reed was let down by those around him. Mickelson and Matt Kuchar beat subpar opponents (Stephen Gallacher and Thomas Bjorn, respectively) before the third rookie on Watson’s team, Jimmy Walker, produced a brilliant but ultimately meaningless win over Lee Westwood in the penultimate game.
Beyond that, however, it was another case of chokes down the stretch or spineless efforts from start to finish. None of them embraced the stage like Reed did, and none of them delivered as he did.
The 24-year-old ended up the top points scorer on his team with three. Spieth and Walker were just behind with 2.5. The three rookies were the three stars, an indictment of the other nine.
“Don’t forget Jimmy Walker,” Watson said. “He’s a rookie too—he ain’t young, though! The bottom line is they kicked our butts. They were better players this week.”
Mickelson and Watson can debate the merits of different leadership styles, but ultimately what the Ryder Cup comes down to is the players performing. The last winning U.S. captain, Paul Azinger in 2008, could well be asked to lead the team again at Hazeltine in 2016, such is the PGA’s panicked determination to turn the tide.
But his task will be about changing attitudes as much as it will be revisiting the vaunted “pod system” Mickelson loved so much.
“They youthful energy that Jordan Spieth brought this week, that Patrick Reed brought, they are the ones that kept us in it,” Mickelson said, in a rare comment not intended as a jibe at his captain. “They kept us in it, and they are just brilliant players.”
Together and apart, Reed and Spieth took the game to their opponents this week in Scotland. Part of that was the exuberance and fearlessness of youth, but it was more than that—the two just have a different, more combative mindset than some of their peers which suits this type of event better.
“My one role, I thought I could really fire up the team and get them going, because I’m a fiery kind of guy,” Reed added. “At the end of the day, we didn’t get the job done.”
Hopefully that disappointment burns within them. Hopefully they are motivated to avenge this latest loss in two years’ time. Hopefully on that occasion they are given a more pivotal role within the team.
On this stage at least, it is time for the others to step aside.
“Our team’s very, very strong, and I think that if we played them again the next three days, we would come out on top,” Spieth said. “Come [2016] we’ll be ready to go.”
That probably is not strictly true, but it is exactly the mentality the Americans need to have. After so much failure in recent times, the U.S. have a lot of work to do to find a winning mentality. But you can bet Spieth and Reed should be a key part of any new approach they come up with.
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