Patrick Reed has quit LIV Golf. In a classic Reed move, he is competing in Bahrain on the DP World Tour while still wearing the 4Aces gear – the team he played for on the Saudi backed tour.
Everyone loves a pantomime villain and Reed ticks that box. He won’t win any popularity contests wherever he plays – Jordan Spieth requested he not play with Reed in the Paris Ryder Cup – but that doesn’t mean he isn’t needed in the game.
Whatever your opinion of him, his presence evokes feelings in people and that is good for the PGA Tour. Rooting against someone can be as entertaining as rooting for someone and his presence on the PGA Tour will bring eyeballs.
Professional golf is lacking rivalries. Gone are the Tiger vs Phil days the Pádraig Harrington vs Sergio Garcia which still makes me dislike Sergio. I’m sure I was in the minority who wanted Garcia to fail at the 2017 Masters. But you never forget the ones you hated. He still hasn’t change as far as I’m concerned.
The LPGA Tour had 29 different winners last season while the men’s game has been devoid of serious jeopardy since the PGA Tour and LIV Golf feud. Everybody is just happy to be there, the Europeans all live in Florida and the Americans are their friends. Everyone is a great guy, the commentators can’t say enough about what a top man some random American player is. At least on the DP World Tour there’s always a chance someone might drop the ‘F’ bomb or throw a club.
The PGA Tour had become sterile but certainly the return of Brooks Koepka and soon Reed will provide the US circuit a much needed shot in the arm. Reed thrives when people are rooting against him and it seems like he was relishing in all of the attention after his bombshell revelation that he had not yet signed up for next week’s LIV season that he went a step further and announced he was quitting the breakaway league.
It would be great to see Reed trying to spoil party after party at the top of PGA Tour leaderboards. Bring back the days where he had the Indian sign over Rory McIlroy and was finger wagging his way to Ryder Cup victories and providing breathtaking theatre.
Every sport needs a bad guy and Reed certainly fits the bill for golf. Sports fans love to hate as much as they love their own.
Dubbed ‘Captain America’ Reed boasts a 7-3-2 Ryder Cup record and has brought fireworks to the biennial contest with his passionate and boisterous celebrations. He is the typical USA Ryder Cup player, nobody wants to play with him, but nobody wants to play more than him.
Reed said in a statement: “After careful thought and consideration, my family and I have decided that I will no longer compete on the LIV Golf Tour.
“I am excited to announce that I am returning to the PGA TOUR as a past champion member for the 2027 season and am eligible to begin competing in PGA TOUR events later this year.
“I will continue to compete and play as an Honorary Lifetime Member on the DP World Tour, which is something that I am truly honored and excited to do.
“I’m a traditionalist at heart, and I was born to play on the PGA TOUR, which is where my story began with my wife, Justine.
“I am very fortunate for the opportunities that have come my way and grateful for the life we have created. I am moving forward in my career, and I look forward to competing on the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour. I can’t wait to get back out there and revisit some of the best places on earth.”
As for LIV Golf itself. It has been an absolutely disastrous off-season and one which has plunged the long term future of the tour into serious doubt.
Koepka and Reed have left while Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm have remained non-committal beyond the end of this season when their contracts expire. The PGA Tour have brought back a villain but the real broadway figure they want is Bryson. His potential departure would send shockwaves through LIV.
A fair grade for LIV would be F. No big name signings since Rahm in 2023 and they’ve supplemented the loss of Koepka and Reed by signing a catalogue of nobodies.
Thomas Detry, Ben An, Elvis Smylie, Michael La Sasso, Victor Perez, Laurie Canter, Minkyu Kim, Younghan Song, Scott Vincent, Yosuke Asaji, Richard T. Lee and Bjorn Hellegren are the newbies for the 2026 season. They wouldn’t draw a crowd in a Pierce Purcell event.
LIV Golf. $5 billion well spent.
Leave a comment