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Ryder Cup: Previews, predictions for each of the Friday four-ball matches

By Brandon Raper

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: A general view during the opening ceremony for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: A general view during the opening ceremony for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Ryder Cup Friday Four-Ball preview Tiger Woods Patrick Reed
PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 27: Tiger Woods of the United States, girlfriend Erica Herman, Patrick Reed of the United States and wife Justine Reed depart the opening ceremony for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The bad man in red and black is back!

Of course, I’m talking about “Captain America”, Patrick Reed. I mean, come on, the guy was challenging the crowd at the OPENING CEREMONY to boo him more. That’s the type of thing Team USA needs more of!

Oh, you thought I was talking about someone else? Someone with 80 PGA TOUR wins, the second-most in history, and counting? Someone with seven previous Ryder Cup appearances under his belt despite missing the last two to injury?

Yeah, that’s Tiger Woods, and he’s back, too.

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I’m doing my best not to just chalk this up as a win for the Americans because of who’s playing in the match. After all, Francesco Molinari won the Open Championship this year, as Woods fell off the pace down the stretch. Tommy Fleetwood has become one of the best golfers in both the United States and Europe, and he won the 2017 Open de France right here at Le Golf National.

But no matter what I try to reckon, I keep coming back to this fact: the duo of Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed is the strongest anchor that captain Jim Furyk could have put out on the course.

Reed carries a 3-1-0 four-ball record (alongside Jordan Spieth) in his two Cup contests. Woods is “only” 5-8-0, but he has struggled to find a partner that complements his game as well as it could. But Woods has also seemingly figured out his driver over the past couple of weeks, and his Scotty Cameron Newport putter is as deadly as it’s ever been.

At the end of the day, that will likely be too much for the decorated Europeans to overcome. You may even see the European crowds put aside partisanship for a moment to cheer on Tiger if he gets on a roll.

Look for the duo of Woods and Reed to find some much-needed chemistry as they even the matches in the final game of the morning session.

Pick: Woods/Reed win, 3&2

Next. Breaking down every member of Team Europe at the 2018 Ryder Cup. dark

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