I don’t care’ – Team USA star brutally refused to be paired with controversial player at Ryder Cup

There is a long-standing narrative that Europe are generally better at being a Ryder Cup team than the Americans.

Sure, Team USA often have the more talented set of players, and that can be enough, especially when combined with home advantage.

But there is a reason why Europe have been able to punch above their weight so many times despite being statistical underdogs.

It’s a wider sense of purpose, culture and strategy – getting individual sportsmen to play for something greater than themselves.

In other words, it can feel like the Europeans care more when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

Many will feel that theory was validated by the Americans successfully demanding to be paid for this year’s edition.

But the question of egos dates back many years and it boiled over spectacularly in 2018.

Patrick Reed sensationally took aim at captain Jim Furyk and teammate Jordan Spieth after Team USA’s resounding defeat in Paris.

Reed and Spieth formed a formidable partnership in 2014 and 2016 – winning four, drawing two and losing one match – to become one of the most reliable pairings in Ryder Cup history.

They became the first Americans ever to play seven matches together, and with five points, they equalled the record for the highest return from a single US pairing, which still stands today.

Spieth still holds the first record, but Reed does not. It now belongs to Spieth and his close friend Justin Thomas, who have played together nine times over the years.

That partnership will be broken in 2025 because Spieth is not on the team, but in 2018, Reed lost Spieth in far more acrimonious fashion.

Reed was given a new partner and most would not complain given it was none other than Tiger Woods.

However, they were a disaster, losing two matches by big margins before Reed was replaced as Woods’ partner by Bryson DeChambeau.

On the other hand, Spieth and Thomas were the only American success story from a punishing week, winning three out of their four matches together.

But Reed was in no mood to see any silver lining, hitting out at Jim Furyk for implementing a ‘buddies system’.

He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”

Explaining the situation at the time, Spieth had said: “We were totally involved in every decision that was made. Jim allowed it to be a player-friendly environment.”

Reed admitted he was tempted to call out his teammate in front of the world’s media there and then.

“I was looking at (Jordan) like I was about to light the room up like Phil (Mickleson) in ’14,” said Reed.

“Every day, I saw ‘Leave your egos at the door’. They (the Europeans) do that better than us.”