You have to like the cut of his jib. Patrick Reed knows how to get a crowd going, knows how to get opponents to rise to the bait. Remember Gleneagles? On foreign territory, putting a cupped hand to his ear as if he couldn't hear whatever words and roars were being fired in his direction. Egging, urging them on.
Unabashed.
Immune, the sort of guy a task force would want.
Now, on home turf, expect more of the same but multiply it a hundred times.
Reed may not be universally popular in the locker-room on tour – he finished second, behind Bubba Watson, in a confidential poll conducted by espn.com last year which asked tour players who they were least likely to assist in a car park fight (really!) – but he's popular with fans and the one most likely to stir up the noise here.
Box-office
The pantomime villain from Gleneagles is more likely to be viewed as a box-office hero this time round.
"I can't wait," said Reed. "I've represented the US three times, at Olympics, Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, and all of them have been on the road. So, finally, having a Ryder Cup and being able to represent my country in the US is going to be awesome. I can't wait to get out there, hear the crowds going crazy and all the U-S-A chants."
Reed has fire in his belly. That's who he is. And it would seem he has struck a chord with Tiger Woods. Before getting here, Reed – who first burst onto the scene in 2013 when he won the Wyndham Championship in his rookie season – hadn't spent much time in Woods' company.
But he was put into Woods’ pod here, taken under the vice-captain’s wing.
On Tuesday, a cold wind blew across Hazeltine and the other players in his group decided that nine holes was enough play for the day. Reed decided he'd like to walk the other nine, to get to know them.
He told Woods of his plan. “All right, let’s go,” responded Woods, who walked with Reed and helped him figure out the course. “To have somebody do that for you, especially a guy like Tiger Woods, it meant a lot,” said Reed.
Slopes
Woods was runner-up to Rich Beem in the 2002 USPGA and to YE Yang in the 2009 USPGA at Hazeltine and during their walk-around, he threw balls onto certain greens to demonstrate the slopes.
“The way his mind works on the golf course, it’s impressive,” said Reed. “I learned so much walking around that I felt that alone could save me so many shots throughout my career, just thinking about the minor details. It’s not rocket science. It’s really stuff I should have been thinking about. Just the experience and expertise he has in sharing that with me has been awesome.”
Cutting edge
If that is an example of how Woods – brought on board early on as a vice-captain by Davis Love III – has thrown himself into the role, Reed has that cutting edge that captains love from their players.
Reed, who hit a timely run of form with a win in the Barclays, the FedEx Cup opening tournament, was the standout American in the match at Gleneagles, with three-and-a-half points pocketed. But he walked away with his team-mates as part of a losing team. He was a rookie then and delivered; this time, there are heightened expectations.
“I definitely don’t feel any more pressure,” he said.
“Come game time, I’m the same way. I’m a fiery guy. I’m a competitive guy. So I hope to start getting these guys fired up even more.
“Being me, I might push them over the limit. That’s who I am – the more fire I can bring to the team, the more I can get them going, especially if I get out there and I start getting hot and start getting on a quick run.”
Not shy about coming forward, as the saying goes.
