Reed needles Spieth ahead of showdown
Ryder Cup partners set to face off in 3rd round of the WGC-Dell Match Play
AUSTIN – Patrick Reed couldn’t help himself.
There he was Thursday, facing the media after winning his second consecutive match in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, when he was asked about the strengths of his third-round opponent.
“I don’t know, my back still hurts from the last Ryder Cup,” Reed said.
He was joking about having to do everything to win matches in the 2016 Ryder Cup because his partner, and Friday’s opponent, was playing poorly. But the needle had been given and the hype went up a notch.
In the most anticipated match of the tournament, Reed faces Jordan Spieth in Friday’s third round, a match between the Stars & Stripes superstars that will decide who goes home and who moves on after each beat Charl Schwartzel and Hao Tong Li the first two days.
Since Reed and Spieth were selected to be in the same bracket in pool play at Monday night’s draw, the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup partners — they are 8-1-3 as a team — haven’t been able to escape each other. Reed said his phone started blowing up as soon as the two wound up in the same pool. Spieth didn’t go 20 feet Tuesday upon his arrival to Austin Country Club before hearing his first question about Reed.
“I wish they’d mic us both up, to be honest,” Spieth said this week. “I think you all would wish they would mic us both up.”
It will be a battle between the measured cool of Spieth, who plays well on Madison Avenue, and the combustible, fist-pumping Reed, who plays well in a dark alley.
A Texas Longhorn against a raging bull. Both Texas born and raised, the two have been trying to beat the hell out of each other since their days as juniors. And did so even when they were teammates.
“We’re so competitive with each other within our own pairing at the Ryder Cup, we want to outdo each other. That’s what makes us successful,” said Spieth, also 2-0-0 this week. “Normally you’re working together, but we want to beat each other every time. We’ve almost played every single match we’ve been involved in together against each other. We just happen to be wearing the same colors for a lot of those matches.”
They have faced each other in sudden-death playoffs — Reed winning his first PGA Tour title by beating Spieth in extra holes in the 2013 Wyndham Championship, Spieth exacting revenge in the 2015 Valspar Championship when he beat Reed and Sean O’Hair in a playoff.
The strengths of each player, the two will tell you, is they have exceptional short games and love playing in the wind (the forecast calls for strong winds Friday). And Spieth said Reed plays better when he gets angry.
“I’ve been very nice to him this week,” Spieth said with a smile.
“That’s Jordan,” Reed said about Spieth’s put-on.
“But he knows if I get angry, that brings out the best golf in me. But I have enough tricks that I can do to myself to make myself angry.
“I can’t wait to play with him. It’s different. Normally I’m used to him being on my side, and now we’re going up against each other. We just hope to go out and play some good golf and give everyone a show and have a good day at the golf course.”
Spieth or Reed will be one of 16 players who will advance out of pool play and head into Saturday’s fourth round. One player who won’t be heading into Saturday is world No. 1 and defending champion Dustin Johnson. Last year he never trailed in 112 holes in winning the championship.
This year, in losses to Bernd Wiesberger and Adam Hadwin, he never led in either match.
World No. 3 Jon Rahm can’t advance to Saturday, either, after losing 1 up to Chez Reavie.