Patrick Reed is an American who bleeds red, white and blue, and he's ready to lace up the spikes for Uncle Sam in the men's Olympic golf tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
“Any time I can wear stars and stripes, I do it,” Reed said ahead of this week’s Scottish Open. “I get the call tomorrow, I’ll be on the flight. It doesn’t matter to me on where it is, when it is. If I can play for my country, I’m going to go play.”
And Reed got the call late on Friday to represent the United States in Brazil.
The American contingent was set as Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler, as all are ranked higher than Reed. However, Johnson withdrew his name from Olympic consideration on July 8 over Zika fears. Reed, the world No. 13, will remain in the Olympic field provided he is in the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking after the Scottish Open, the final event before the qualifying cut-off date. A country can send no more than four players into each of the 60-player tournaments, provided all four players are in the top 15 in the world at the cutoff date.
Reed became a fan favorite -- in the sense that Europeans probably love Ian Poulter -- with his 3-0-1 record and his patriotism — and boisterousness — at the 2014 Ryder Cup. The marquee moment was when Reed shushed the partisan European crowd at Gleneagles after winning a hole against Henrik Stenson in a Sunday singles match. He’s on the bubble to earn an automatic spot on the 2016 team heading to Minnesota and Hazeltine National.
