An American First on the European Tour

Love him or hate him, Patrick Reed is poised to become the first American to become Europe & # 39; s best golfer.
The 30-year-old Texan, who shot to fame at the 2016 Ryder Cup as "Captain America", thrilling fans with his aggressive play and on-track antics, leads the Race to Dubai rankings next week ends at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Wednesday to Sunday.
Although Reed is a polarizing figure in American golf, fans in Europe love him. He has found a warm embrace on the European Tour, making him a lifetime honorary member following his 2018 Masters win. He also enjoys exchanges with European fans, who have largely moved away from his Ryder Cup appearance in 2014, where he stimulated and silenced onlookers. Those same fans are now applauding his fiery competitive advantage.
Besides, it was always in his plans to play his game worldwide, he said, and that means playing the European Tour. As he said at the BMW PGA Championship in England in October, “I feel like the more support we can get, especially from guys from the United States, the better. That's one of the reasons I always come to play, because I know how important it is for our games to travel.
He said last week that he felt a special bond with European fans.
"I think it started in 2014 at Gleneagles, Scotland," he said, referring to the Ryder Cup. "For the first time I realized that they understood my humor and the competitor that I am."
He said the closing ceremony was very special to him.
"They announced Tom Watson, and I watched the thousands upon thousands of European fans, waves and waves of people roaring on their feet before Tom Watson, our American captain, beaten," said Reed. & # 39; And it really touched me. I had never seen anything like it. They loved him no matter what country he was from. I felt like I want to be like him. ”
Appreciate fans in Europe it that by playing on the tour, he helps build better golf there. But things are different in the United States, where Reed has earned critics both on and off course, starting in 2014 when he was bold stated that he was one of the top five players in the world. It was not true, he was number 20 in the rankings at the time. Yet he has since been forever linked to that brash claim.
Most recently he was criticized last December for seemingly his leu gene in a waste bunker when his club cleared sand behind his ball at the 11th hole at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. While Reed said it was unintentional and that he didn't notice that his club had moved sand, he got two shots.
He said afterwards that after seeing the video he accepted the punishment, "but was not on purpose."
"I thought I was far enough away," he said. “I think they would have achieved that with a different camera angle. It didn't correct the lie because it was far enough from the golf ball.
"cheater" taunts quickly followed him to tournaments from Hawaii to California. In February, fellow American Brooks Koepka, a 2018 Ryder Cup teammate, called him out.
"I don't know what he did – build sandcastles in the sand – but you know, you know where your club is," said Koepka in an interview with SiriusXM. "I mean, I have three months off, and I can promise you I know when I touch sand. When you watch the video, he clearly scrapes the sand twice and then still chops it. ”Cameron Smith from Australia also called Reed a cheat.
Reed has become a master of noise tuning.
"The most important thing to me is that every time you go to the golf course, you pop in my headphones, get to work and get really aware of every wave I make, because at the end of the day you can't listen to what other people say, ”said Reed at the WGC-Mexico Championship in February.
Until the end, Reed wants to win the Race to Dubai and make history of the European Tour, he must fend off Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa and Lee Westwood, who are the next three points. Fleetwood won the Race to Dubai in 2017 and has finished second and third in the standings for the past two years.
Morikawa is looking to win without having played a game in Europe this year As an affiliate member of the tour, which allows players to pay a fee for tour status, points can be earned at majors and other events and applied to the R. ace to Dubai.
Westwood is hoping to win the Race to Dubai for the third time. “I've had some success in Dubai over the years,” he said. “It's a great honor for every player. I've done it twice before so it's great to have another chance this year.”
Ahead of points, Reed hopes this will be his year .
"I got close in 2018.," he said. "So you bet I'll do my best to earn that number 1 spot."