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Mark Schlabach
After picking up his 12th worldwide victory in the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, Patrick Reed said he’s a free agent and hasn’t yet finalized his contract to play in the LIV Golf League this season.
While Reed hopes to play when the LIV Golf schedule begins Feb. 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the former Masters champion said there are still details to be worked out with his contract.
«Not that I know of,» Reed said Sunday, when asked if he’d played in his last LIV Golf tournament. «Not right now. Really just all kind of depends on everything. I mean, I haven’t talked to the team back home or anything like that. But at the moment, I plan on teeing it up there in Riyadh, and I’d be surprised if we’re not.»
Dustin Johnson to a multiyear contract extension and indicated that Reed would be returning to the 4Aces, along with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters.
However, Reed says the deal isn’t done.
«We’re still finalizing the contract,» Reed said. «We’re not complete on that yet.»
With his 4-stroke victory over England’s Andy Sullivan at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, Reed picked up his first win on the DP World Tour since 2020.
Reed is expected to climb to 29th in the Official World Golf Ranking, which all but assures him spots in the four majors this season. He has a lifetime exemption to play in the Masters and might have qualified for the U.S. Open and The Open through pathways for LIV golfers based on the league’s season-long points race.
«It’s always nice to lock up the majors,» Reed said. «I mean, any time you go ahead and get a win, it’s special. It means a lot. But to do it earlier in the year like this, to be able to take the momentum going into the year, and I don’t know where it will put me in the World Ranking after this week.
Reed, 35, said he’s not currently having discussions about going back to the PGA Tour. A nine-time winner on tour, Reed’s last appearance in a non-major came at The Memorial in June 2022.
If Reed doesn’t re-sign with LIV Golf, he said competing on the DP World Tour and trying to earn his way back to the PGA Tour by finishing in the top 10 in points is another option.
«Good golf takes care of itself, right?» Reed said. «If I ended up not playing on LIV this year, obviously it would be one of those things that I would be out here playing more on this tour and trying to secure one of those spots in the top 10 and allow myself to get back on the PGA Tour.»
On Jan. 12, former LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour through a new Returning Member Program. Only golfers who have been away from the tour for at least two years and won one of the majors or the Players Championship since 2022 are eligible for the program.
Bryson DeChambeau (2024 U.S. Open), Jon Rahm (2023 Masters) and Cameron Smith (2022 Players Championship and Open Championship) are the other LIV golfers eligible to return under certain conditions, but they’ve said they’ll remain with the Saudi Arabian-financed breakaway league this season.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said the window for LIV golfers to apply for reinstatement under the program closes Feb. 2.
