After his Dubai win, Patrick Reed faces a decision: his LIV Golf contract remains open as the season opener in Riyadh approaches.
At a press conference following his victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, Texan Patrick Reed spoke about his future with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league. When asked if he would participate in the LIV Golf season opener in Riyadh in early February, Reed, who has played since June 2022 for LIV Golf’s 4Aces GC team, initially said he “should be ready” for the next LIV Golf season and was pressed further during the conference.
LIV Golf Contract Not Yet Renewed
It emerged that the 35-year-old has not yet renewed his contract with LIV Golf and aims to finalize details with the Saudi league within approximately two weeks before the LIV Golf Riyadh event from February 4 to 7. “We are still working on the contract details,” Reed said, adding, “We are not done yet.”
Reed explained that during tournament phases he prefers to avoid business talk: “I don’t like discussing business or similar things while playing. That’s why Monday to Wednesday is the only time to talk about it,” he added. “When I arrived here this week, I knew that from Thursday on I would focus solely on golf. From tonight and tomorrow, we can talk about other things again.”
Patrick Reed: “At the Moment, I Plan to Play in Riyadh”
Patrick Reed is also entered in the next DP World Tour event, the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. Despite the uncertainty, he expects to renew his contract: “I haven’t spoken to the team at home or anything,” Reed said. “But at the moment I plan to play in Riyadh and would be surprised if we don’t.”
In four years at LIV Golf, Reed finished three times in the top seven overall and won his first individual LIV Golf event last season in Dallas. Parallel to the league, he remained active outside LIV Golf; last year he played 18 world ranking events 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 due to his LIV involvement. Reed mentioned earlier this week he is willing to pay whatever it takes to remain active on the DP World Tour.
DP World Tour as Possible Route Back to PGA Tour
After his Hero Dubai Desert Classic win, Patrick Reed returned to the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking, currently ranking 29th. Should Reed not return to LIV, he sees the DP World Tour as a path back to the PGA Tour. Unlike Brooks Koepka, who celebrates his PGA return at the Farmers Insurance Open, Reed cannot easily rejoin the PGA Tour since his Masters win dates back to 2018 and the return program requires a major title no later than 2022. “If I don’t play LIV this year, one option is to play more on this tour (DP World Tour), try to secure a top-10 spot in the Race to Dubai, and thus enable a return to the PGA Tour,” he said.