Tiger’s personal greeting for Reed
AUGUSTA, Ga. — One of the messages Patrick Reed received for his hard-earned Masters victory came from Tiger Woods, who added a personal touch to his tweet of congratulations.
"At worst you have assured yourself a captain's pick for next year's Presidents Cup," he wrote.
That's still 20 months away in Australia and on nobody's mind except for Woods', mainly because he's the U.S. captain for the 2019 matches. Much closer on the calendar is the Ryder Cup in France at the end of September. Reed moved to the top of the standings by capturing his first major.
If he wasn't already a lock, he is now.
For the last four years, the Ryder Cup has defined Reed's success in golf. He earned his way onto the last two teams by winning tournaments, including a World Golf Championship at Doral and a FedEx Cup playoff event at Bethpage. And as much as Reed boasted after the 2014 victory at Doral that he considered himself one of the top 5 players in the world, he didn't win enough to back that up.
That's why his reputation was built more on playing for his flag than for himself. He was the Ryder Cup rookie who brashly pressed his finger to his lips to shush the crowds in Scotland when he was unbeaten in four matches, and who wagged his finger at Rory McIlroy at Hazeltine when he buried big putts on top of him. Major champion? Reed had never registered a top 10 in any of the biggest events until a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship last summer, and even then he didn't have a chance to win when playing the 18th hole. His record was even more suspect at the Masters. Reed had played 12 rounds at Augusta National without ever breaking 70, and only two of those rounds were under par.
One week changed everything.