The United States needed this.
While Rory McIlroy has carried the Europeans this Ryder Cup with booming drives, dialed-in approach shots and long putts at Hazeltine National, the Americans have been looking for a spark.
They got one Saturday afternoon from Patrick Reed.
The boisterous Texan who infamously "shushed" the European Ryder Cup crowd at Gleneagles two years ago came up big in a big way. Paired with Jordan Spieth in the afternoon four-balls session, Reed made a birdie putt on No. 5 to even the match with Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose.
After a perfect second shot on the par-5 sixth hole, Reed drew a wedge and plunked his shot 15 feet behind the hole with a little English. It spun toward the hole, losing momentum as it inched toward the cup - and dropped for an eagle to put the U.S. 1-up in the match.
The crowd erupted. Galleries watching on screens at nearby holes erupted. Reed dropped his club and screamed with Spieth: "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!" while also high-fiving everyone in reach except for the NBC camera man.
The high-fives continued with some of the 50,000 spectators on the walk to the seventh hole, where Reed made birdie to put his side 2-up.
Here's what the eagle looked like.
