GLENEAGLES, Scotland -- Players' wives and girlfriends are in the spotlight a lot at the Ryder Cup, but one has decided to reduce her role in the actual competition. On Thursday, Patrick Reed said his wife, Justine, would not be caddying for him this week.
Reed said his wife based her decision on the fact that this is such an enjoyable experience for significant others.
"Of course she would love to. The thing was, she felt like this would have been a fun week for her to be the wife, take in all the activities with the other wives and get to know them and build more friendships, just like I did out here with the guys," said Reed, one of three Ryder Cup rookies on the U.S. squad. "I think what we did is the best way. She feels comfortable with it. She'll be cheering pretty loud on the sideline."
When Justine doesn't caddie for her husband -- like during a stretch earlier this year when she was pregnant with the couple's first child -- her brother, Kessler Karain, does. Karain was on the bag for Patrick's wins in Palm Springs and at Doral earlier this year.
After giving birth to daughter Windsor-Wells in May, Justine returned to her job at the Wyndham Championship, where she helped guide her husband to his first PGA Tour win in 2013. Not surprisingly, Patrick feels very comfortable with either family member guiding him.
"Justine and Kessler are so much alike. They have the same kind of demeanor. They don't ever get high. They don't ever get real low. You look at them, they are just flat-lined. I feel like that's good with me because I get high and I get lows, so I have that person to kind of balance me out and get going and get ready for the next shot," Reed said. "Justine is such a huge competitor. It was hard to have her not come on the bag. But at the same time, I feel like Kessler and I, we've played extremely well with each other and we've played great, and hopefully we can go get the job done."
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