Golf-Shush, it's you know who as pumped-up Reed launches U.S. bid

Reuters

By Tony Jimenez CHASKA, Minnesota, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Patrick Reed, who memorably tried to 'shush' the 2014 Gleneagles crowd by putting his index finger to his lips, looks like he is ready to make a big noise for the U.S. in Friday's opening Ryder Cup foursomes. Captain Davis Love III surprised no one at Thursday's opening ceremony when he named Reed and Jordan Spieth, his powerhouse pairing, to take on European strongmen Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose in the first match out. "Patrick's name is at the top of the list, our most fired-up guy is going to be in front of the most fired-up crowd maybe in the history of golf so that's a good start," Love told reporters as he looked to end Europe's run of three successive wins in the team event. "And then you have a guy (Spieth) that can handle that crowd and handle the pressure playing with him against two of the best players." The Americans were beaten by 16-1/2 to 11-1/2 points in Scotland two years ago but one of the few bright spots to emerge from their third successive defeat in the biennial competition was the performance by the Reed-Spieth alliance. The pair were unbeaten in three matches, winning twice by handsome margins of 5&4 and 5&3, and halving their other tussle together. "For the last six months, Patrick Reed has just been so excited," said Love. "We just felt that first-tee atmosphere just fits him and Jordan to get it kicked off. We liked Patrick getting out there first." Reed was overjoyed to be paired again with twice major winner Spieth. "I'm pumped that Jordan and I are playing together, it's awesome," he said. "It's going to be a battle of four great golfers, it's going to be so much fun." Spieth appeared to have no doubts about the outcome of the opening match. "We believe in ourselves and we'll go out there and get our job done and put a point on the board for the United States," he said. Whether Love is deluding himself or he genuinely believes it is the case, he said the 12 players he had at his disposal would carry no previous baggage into this year's Ryder Cup. "This team has never played together before," he added. "This is a new 12. "We are not looking at past records, we're looking at tomorrow morning." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)