Ah Patrick Reed. The trash talker of trash talkers. Lightning rod of lightning rods. Giver of life to a sometimes stodgy golf world that could use a little juice every once in a while. Over the past few weeks, Reed has been equal parts relevant and polarizing. It's a Ryder Cup year, so I'm not sure why you would expect anything different.

Reed is both a character and a caricature. A villain and a parody. The creator of grand, overwhelming content and the butt of it, too. He is the perfect individual to cover in the independent contractor world of a sport like golf.

I understand why people loathe him. He wears red and black on Sundays, which is adorable and maybe even comical until he's trading blows with a suddenly-great again Tiger Woods in 2018. Then it's an affront. He makes jokes about Jordan Spieth's favorite son status which are of the "ha ha ... wait, he might not be joking" variety. He hushes foreign crowds and incites domestic ones. He unintentionally breaks all the molds.

This crested again on Thursday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event when Reed was asked about what Spieth does well in match play events. Reed, who has tag-teamed with Spieth for five points won in seven matches at the Ryder Cup, responded hilariously.

"I don't know, my back still hurts from the last Ryder Cup," said Reed, insinuating that he had carried their two-man team all over Hazeltine en route to a 2-1-1 record.

He was kidding, I think. But regardless, please let this pseudo-humor drip slowly and consistently directly into my veins, and do not let it stop until it has completely overwhelmed my being.

Heroes are only heroes because there are villains. Good cannot exist independent of bad. That takes on different names and faces in golf -- or it did when Tiger Woods was really rolling. But an archetype like the one Reed has constructed -- where he believes himself to be the main event but might actually not be -- only exacerbates the heroism of those whose paths have been set in stone.

This is tremendous for not only those who get to play hero but also for the meta-narrative. Great characters make great shows. This has been true for thousands of years no matter how it is cloaked. 

So bemoan Patrick Reed if you choose, or embrace the hilarity of his outrageous behavior and (at times) insanely good golf. And remember that no matter what happens in Friday's win-and-move-on match against Spieth, we are all victors. 

Because in the end Jordan Spieth is the Chosen One, and Patrick Reed is playing a part. 

Jordan Spieth, though, would not be Jordan Spieth without a Patrick Reed.