Patrick Reed arrives at Augusta National as one of the game’s hottest players, having won twice on the DP World Tour while adding a T-2 finish. Few venues suit his game better; since claiming the green jacket in 2018, he has finished T-12 or better five times, including a third-place showing last spring. Reed should very much factor into this week’s proceedings. But it is his future—and his recent past—that commanded the conversation Monday.

Two months ago, Reed left LIV Golf with a singular goal: return to the PGA Tour. He secured that return through his hot streak on the DP World Tour, securing one of the 10 cards the European league hands out to its top finishers in the Race to Dubai standings. Yet unlike fellow defector Brooks Koepka, whose departure from LIV had been rumoured for some time, Reed’s decision came without warning. Speaking from the Augusta National press building Monday, he explained what went into it, and when.

“Yeah, it definitely happened quickly,” Reed said, “but it was one of those that, when I was over there in Dubai and playing, I really just kind of was sitting back and realizing that I wanted to get back and not only join—have an opportunity back on the PGA Tour, but get back to the traditional way of golf and playing.

“When I stood there in Dubai, that Saturday the entire range is full, and then guys just start disappearing, and you’re the last man on that tee box. Then you’re walking to the tee, you’re the last name announced, and you’ve lost the lead because someone is 5-under through 8. All those just rushes and those scenarios, kind of going back into playing golf that way, where you’re going out there and you’re having the battles between not just yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard. For me, I wanted that back, I wanted that adrenaline back, and those feelings, especially with the way I played those last three weeks.”

Reed said the timing was fortuitous; though LIV’s new season was scheduled to start, he had not signed his new deal, technically making him a free agent. He mentioned wanting to test his game on the “best tour in the world.”

“I’ve played on every single one of them,” Reed said. “It’s one of those that from top to bottom that’s the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out.”

However, it’s not just about competition. Reed also asserted LIV’s international schedule was keeping him from spending as much time with family as he would have liked. “My daughter is now eleven; little man’s eight. It seems like time has flown. I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more, yet still at the same time to play against the best guys,” Reed said. “To be honest with you, it was one of those decisions that I felt like was the best, not just for the golf game, but also for my family to spend more time with them. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it obviously being at home and spending time with the kiddos and my wife.”

Reed finished by saying he enjoyed his team on LIV, especially with his team. He clarified that there was no hard feelings between himself and former employer. “Yeah, there’s nothing that I felt like was going on between LIV and us or anything like that. Like I said, we had a contract, had a deal, but at the end of the day, I felt like the best thing for us was to come to the PGA Tour again.”

Because he is facing a year suspension from his last LIV Golf appearance, Reed is not eligible to return to the PGA Tour until its fall season. For now, that means more starts on the DP World Tour. “Those travels overseas, it’s going to be a lot this year,” Reed said, “but at the same time, I can’t wait to obviously go out there and compete, but at the same time, come home and see the family.”

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It was a subtle slight, but a slight nevertheless directed at Reed when McIlroy was asked to chime in on the recent defections of the two major winners from the LIV Golf League and how that affects the overall landscape in men’s professional golf.

“I think Brooks coming back, one of the best players of our generation, five-time major champion, that’s a big deal,” McIlroy said at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where he is the defending champion of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that begins on Thursday. “Patrick earning his way back through really good play over on the DP World Tour, that’s great for him.”

OK, at least one player coming back is great for the PGA Tour.

In the next breath, the Northern Irishman added, “I’m all for anything that makes the PGA Tour stronger, and those two guys coming back make the PGA Tour stronger.”

A nice save.

McIlroy, 36, is making his season debut this week in the $20 million no-cut signature event that propelled him to a special year in which he won the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.

When LIV was launched in 2022, McIlroy was the leading voice in support of the tour and was a driving force in changes to it, including the creation of signature events. Those actions seemed to stem the momentum that LIV was building when it started signing players like Koepka, Reed, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.

Koepka is returning after accepting a deal with the tour—the Returning Member Program that included a $5 million donation to charity. Reed is eligible to play tour events in September, and with two wins already on the DP World Tour this season, which have pushed him to No. 17 in the World Ranking, he is positioned to earn a full tour card for the 2027 if he remains among the top 10 in the Race to Dubai. He currently leads the standings.

McIlroy sees a shift a notable in the battle between LIV and the tour.

“It certainly, I think, swung the pendulum a little more in the PGA Tour’s favour,” he said. “The sentiment has definitely changed from, say, 18 months ago. You’re going to see guys are going to get to the end of their contracts and whether they’re going to get the money that they were paid the first time around remains to be seen.

“But like I’ve said before, I think everything that’s happened over the last few years, it forced the tour to think about things differently … create these signature events but then rethink the entire schedule and what’s going to happen ’27 and beyond. I think the guys over there are maybe seeing that and it might entice them a little bit more [to come back].”

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Patrick Reed is leaving LIV Golf, and he and several other players are seeking reinstatement with the PGA Tour.

 

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RELATED: Two weeks before season starts, Patrick Reed drops that he has NOT yet re-signed with LIV Golf

Reed, 35, had remarked just days ago after winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic that he had not re-signed yet with LIV Golf for the 2026 season yet he still expected to compete on the Saudi-backed circuit when it begins next week.

“We’re still finalising the contract; we’re not complete on that yet,” Reed said after winning the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series opener at the Emirates Golf Club. “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.”

However, Reed had expressed interest in returning to the PGA Tour following the tour opening the door to Brooks Koepka and other LIV members, despite not qualifying for the immediate exemption as laid out by new tour CEO Brian Rolapp.

On Wednesday, Reed and the tour announced that he would be seeking a return.

“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,” Reed said on social media. “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.”

Reed is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, highlighted by his victory at the 2018 Masters. He has also been a frequent target of criticism for allegations about this play; Reed has denied any accusations about this conduct and filed a $750 million lawsuit against Golf Channel and several media members on the subject. The lawsuits were dismissed.

As noted in his statement, he is expected to play most of the year on the DP World Tour. He is No. 29 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which should allow him to compete in all four majors this year.

Reed last competed on LIV in August, meaning he will not be eligible to return to the tour until late August, which would be the week of the Tour Championship. Essentially, Reed is eligible to play in the tour’s fall season as a non-member. According to the tour, Reed would then be able to reinstate his membership for the 2027 season, where he would play out of the past champion category.

Similar to anyone reinstated under the Returning Member Program, Reed would be ineligible to participate in the Player Equity Program through 2030. He will, however, be eligible for the Presidents Cup in September.

Interestingly, the news coincides not only with Koepka’s return to the tour but during the Farmers Insurance Open. The event served as Reed’s last win on tour in 2021, the week was known for Reed obtaining free relief from an embedded ball in the rough. Though tour officials granted Reed relief and confirmed he had followed procedure, video of the ball bouncing in the rough garnered controversy from fans, media and fellow players.

Along with Reed, fellow LIV members Pat Perez, Kevin Na and Hudson Swafford have also applied for reinstatement. They would not be eligible for return until 2027.

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Patrick Reed is a true golfer of the world.

It’s why he’s in the Middle East to kick off his 2026 season with three DP World Tour events before the LIV Golf season starts next month. That globetrotting commitment to both the DP World and Asian tours is why he’s still ranked No. 41 in the world, despite LIV not receiving Official World Golf Ranking points.

Earlier this month, the 2018 Masters champion was enjoying a well-earned rest following his 32-event 2025 season when news broke that fellow LIV golfer Brooks Koepka was going back to the PGA Tour via the newly established Returning Member Program. The plan was created for LIV players who have not been a PGA Tour member for two years and who have won the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Open Championship or Players Championship from 2022-2025. Only Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm were eligible, and the latter three said last week they would continue to play on LIV.

Reed, who has played on LIV since its 2022 inaugural season and has one individual victory in 45 total starts, didn’t have the ability to consider the opportunity, but at the Dubai Invitational on Saturday, he was asked, hypothetically, if he would think about returning. “I mean, of course; if it were up to me, I’d play everywhere,” Reed said.

He does play everywhere. In 2025, the Texan teed up in 14 LIV events, four majors, 10 DP World Tour tournaments and four Asian Tour stops. “I’m already playing on three tours, why not add one more?” he added with a laugh. “I always enjoyed my time out there on the PGA Tour. Let’s be honest, out there, it’s the best tour in the world. Look at what they’ve done in golf … I could see myself playing there at some point again. But right now, you just never know; everything’s so fluid.”

Since donning the green jacket in 2018, Reed, 35, has been a regular feature in majors. He was fourth at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock immediately after his Masters victory and 10th at the 2019 Open Championship. He logged top-10s at Augusta National in 2020 and 2021 before becoming a serious Masters contender again. Reed finished T-4 in 2023 and T-3 last year, where he was genuinely in the hunt on the back nine on Sunday.

Despite that form in golf’s four biggest events recently, Reed is not eligible for the Returning Member Program, given it rewards major victories after LIV debuted in 2022.

“Right now, it’s not even a decision,” Reed said. “That was for ’22 and on winners. So, I definitely would have to think about it … if that number [came] down to 2018. Right now, it’s hard to say really what we’re going to do or anything like that. Right now, the biggest thing is trying to play some good golf these [two] weeks, not only to solidify myself out here on DP, but to have a good momentum going into the year.”

Reed, a nine-time PGA Tour winner, was given honorary life membership on the DP World Tour in 2019 due to his staunch support of the European circuit. His commitment will run even deeper this year when he is likely to be paying fines for each LIV event he plays that conflicts with a DP World Tour tournament. The amount of each fine is not known.

As reported by The Telegraph, LIV Golf has paid fines in the past on behalf of its players but will no longer do so in 2026. That won’t stop Reed though, although he says he’d “love for it to be resolved.”

“I always plan on showing my support on this tour and it’s not going to stop me,” Reed said. “Starting this year, any fines or anything like that will go on the players, not on LIV. Right now, playing [these three] DP World Tour events [before the LIV season starts Feb. 4], I’m not getting fined.

“Me travelling and playing around the world … it helps this tour, but also it’s something I’ve always held true to my heart and wanted to do. So, if that’s what it takes [paying the fines], that’s what it takes.

For one reason.

“I’ve always wanted to be a worldwide player,” he said.

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