Exclusive:Patrick Reed on DP World Tour feeling like 'home' and LIV Golf 'hardship'
American puts Race to Dubai title battle with Rory McIlroy ahead of PGA Tour return for time being
Love or loathe him, one thing is both undeniable and admirable when it comes to Patrick Reed. The American rarely turns down an approach to chew the fat about golf, and so it proved ahead of an appearance on Scottish soil this week in the Nexo Championship.
Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, Reed talked openly about a number of topics, including how he is putting the DP World Tour ahead of a PGA Tour return for the time being as he bids to stay out in front in the Race to Dubai title battle and make Rory McIlroy wait as he attempts to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight crowns.
The 2018 Masters champion also chatted passionately about how he loves the Ryder Cup and is determined to be a “little thorn” again for Europe after becoming Public Enemy No 1 with a “shushing” gesture to home fans on his debut in the biennial event at Gleneagles in 2014.
Oh, and Reed talked as well about the current state of LIV Golf, which is ending its season prematurely with an event in Indianapolis this week at a time when the breakaway circuit is “going through the hardship” of losing the Saudi Arabian funding that got it off the ground in 2022 and lured the likes of Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour.
“I feel the environment and the way the tour and the players make me feel welcome as if this is my home,” admitted Reed, who may have turned to the DP World Tour for somewhere to play after he decided to end his stint with LIV Golf in January and being ineligible for the PGA Tour at that point but, in fairness, first started making regular forays across the Atlantic in 2014 and is clocking up his 133rd appearance on the circuit this week.
“I take pride being that American who plays on this tour and I did it even when I was on the PGA Tour,” added the 36-year-old Texan, who struck up a friendship with Bob MacIntyre through playing in the Turkish Airlines Open when it was a Rolex Series event. “And now I am working my way back to the PGA Tour, I still want to show that support and play over here.”
Helped by wins in both the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters earlier in the year, Reed has arrived in Aberdeenshire for this week’s $3 million event leading the way in the Race to Dubai from McIlroy, who has landed the title for the last four years and, sitting with seven crowns in total, is now bidding to move level with Montgomerie for Harry Vardon Trophy victories.
This week marks the start of a run of five straight tournaments for Reed, who will also have an opportunity to stretch his lead over McIlroy in both the British Masters and European Masters before the top two on the points table are back playing in the same events again in the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship.
“The fields are deep week in, week out and, because of that, I feel it is hard to just completely run away with it,” insisted Reed, who is bidding to become just the second American after Collin Morikawa, the 2021, to top the points table. “On top of that, you always know, whether it is the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Sunshine Tour or any tour out there, that the last quarter of the season is the important part. That’s where the champion is made.
“Not even if you get off to a really hot start, you never win it early on in the year. It comes down to how you are playing in that last part of the season. I’m obviously in a good position being in the lead in the Race to Dubai right now and it’s just a case of going out and putting the foot down and acting as if everyone is starting from zero again and trying to play the last quarter of the year better than anyone else.”
Reed, who has a good record on Donald Trump courses, having won a WGC at Doral in Florida and also shot low scores in LIV events at Bedminster, fell in love with the Ryder Cup despite being on a losing team on Scottish soil 12 years ago. Hoping to be back representing the US in the centenary edition at Adare Manor next September, he said, smiling: “To be a little thorn for the European fans would be great, even though the fans over here are unbelievable. I always love to have my back against the wall and have something to prove.”
On the back of Reed having been the first big name to leave LIV Golf and then seeing five-time major winner Brooks Koepka do likewise, it is now being rumoured that Rahm, the circuit’s biggest signing in monetary terms, is seeking a return to the PGA Tour as well amidst undoubted uncertainty about the breakaway circuit’s future despite CEO Scott O’Neil trying to paint a positive picture for a “2.0” model.
“It’s hard to speculate about Jon as I’m not talking to him about what is going on, but, yeah, I could see a lot of different things happening,” admitted Reed, who played with the Murrays - Judy, Andy and Jamie - in Wednesday’s Celebrity Pro-Am on the north-east coast. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if some guys tried to earn their way back to the PGA Tour or some guys tried to earn a spot on this tour. Time will tell.
“Like everyone else, I have no idea what is going to happen with LIV. One day it’s one thing and the next day it’s something else. Everything is so uncertain that you just don’t know. But there are definitely no regrets on my part. My decision was strictly personal and with my family in mind. It didn’t really have anything to do with anything other than that, so I was comfortable with the decision we made.
"Whether LIV was going through the hardships it is now or flourishing in the direction it was when I was playing, I would still be very comfortable with the decision I made as I felt that was the best for myself and my family.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.