After his Dubai win, Patrick Reed faces a decision as his LIV Golf contract remains open with the season opener in Riyadh approaching.
At a press conference following his victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, Texan Patrick Reed commented on his future with the Saudi golf league LIV Golf. Reed, who has been playing for LIV Golf’s 4Aces GC since June 2022, was asked if he would participate in LIV Golf’s season opener in early February in Riyadh, as he had previously responded evasively. He initially said he should be ‘ready’ for the upcoming LIV Golf season, which prompted further questions during the press conference.
LIV Golf Contract Not Yet Renewed
It was revealed that the 35-year-old has not yet extended his contract with LIV Golf and hopes to finalize the details with the Saudi league within a limited timeframe of about two weeks before the LIV Golf Riyadh event from February 4 to 7. “We are still working on the contract details,” Reed said. “We are not finished yet.”
Reed explained that he prefers not to deal with business matters during tournament phases: “I don’t like to talk about business or such while I’m playing. So Monday to Wednesday is the only time to talk about it,” he added. “When I came here this week, I knew from Thursday on I would focus solely on golf. Starting tonight and tomorrow, we can talk about other things again.”
Patrick Reed: \”I Plan to Play in Riyadh for Now\”
Patrick Reed is also entered in the upcoming DP World Tour event, the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. Despite the uncertainty, Reed expects to extend his contract: “I haven’t talked with the team at home or anything,” Reed said. “But for now, I plan to play in Riyadh, and I would be surprised if we don’t.”
Over four years with LIV Golf, Reed placed three times in the top seven of the overall rankings and secured his first individual LIV Golf Tour win last season in Dallas. Concurrently, he remained active outside the league: He played 18 Official World Golf Ranking tournaments last year, compared to just ten starts outside LIV the year before. Ten of these were on the DP World Tour, where Reed holds lifetime membership – despite ongoing fines resulting from his LIV involvement. Reed mentioned earlier this week that he is willing to pay what is necessary to continue his activity on the DP World Tour.