Patrick Reed hasn’t been very successful at the Open Championship in the past two years. Reed missed the cut at Royal St. George’s in 2021, but tied for 47th place at St. Andrews 2022.
He’s had a good start to the season this time, with a 1-under-70 in his opening round at Royal Liverpool, on Thursday morning.
Reed described his round as “frustrating”. “I felt like I hit the balls pretty well, for the most. I left myself many good looks and good spots. I didn’t make much.
The game is fun. The number just isn’t producing. It was a round that could have easily been 4, 5, or 6 under par, but I only shoot 1 below par. It’s probably one of the better first rounds that I’ve played in a long time. I’m playing a huge catch-up.”
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It’s easy for us to look forward the September Ryder Cup, despite this being the last men’s major until the Masters in the spring. Reed has played in three United States vs. Europe matches, but missed the Whistling Straits rout two years ago.
It’s true that his move to the LIV golf league has made it more difficult for him to earn a place on Zach Johnson’s squad, but this doesn’t make it impossible. Look at Brooks Koepka of the LIV Golf League, who has an automatic qualification spot due to his performance in majors, including a PGA Championship win.
Reed knows what he needs to do in order to get a free trip to Rome. He’s keeping it as simple and straightforward as possible.
Reed stated, “I think the only thing that I can do is to play well in the next few days, to have a shot at winning the tournament this Sunday, and to put myself into a position that they will have to consider it.”
“That’s it; good golf takes care everything. It takes care of all these events: the majors, the Ryder Cups, and so on. Playing well is not about playing the game, it’s about playing your own way. The guys who are in LIV, we’re obviously on the back foot with that since we only have four tournaments to count. We can only continue to play solid golf, and win trophies will take care of the rest.
Patrick Reed, of the United States, reacts to the ninth hole during the morning matches of the Ryder Cup 2018 at Le Golf National in Paris on September 29, 2018. Jamie Squire/Getty Images.
Reed said that Johnson had spoken to him this week but it wasn’t a golf conversation.
The 2018 Masters champion was asked about playing on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour as well as the LIV Golf League, given the changes in the sport due to the Tour-PIF Framework Agreement.
I’ve always wanted a European Tour card and to keep it. I am an honorary life member. “I’m proud of that,” he added. “PGA Tour? Of course, I would love to play. In the first year, I would have played the bare minimum. I played the bare minimum on the PGA Tour.
“I played all the events on LIV, and I would not have played less on the European Tour.” I was the guy who said that no one could play all three. It’s true, I played all three. Shocker.
But that’s not the point. Who knows where I will play? It doesn’t matter if I play on the PGA Tour, LIV or European Tour. There should be no excuse for not being able to play if you’ve done well in qualifying. Some people say that you can’t have your cake and eat, too, but how often do PGA Tour pros play on the European Tour to earn money? They get appearance fees. They don’t show up for the competition. They are paid for it. As long as you do the minimum, as long as you follow all rules, it shouldn’t really matter.
You should be able play if you play minimum on the European Tour, and earn enough points to maintain your card. You should be able to play if you are playing the minimum on the PGA Tour, and have earned enough FedExCup Points to keep your card.
Reed will start his second round at 7:31 am. ET on Friday for his second-round.
