It is frightening to think that it is coming up to 10 years since Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed squared off in one of the greatest Ryder Cup battles of all time.
Few will forget Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed throwing several haymakers at each other over the course of an amazing match in the Sunday singles at Hazeltine.
Would you like to see Patrick Reed back on the PGA Tour?
He confirmed he has not yet signed a LIV contract for 2026…
Of course, the pair have not exactly been particularly close in the years since, with a lot of animosity building between the two following Reed’s move to LIV Golf in 2022.
It now seems that Reed has never been closer to making a return to the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy reacts to Patrick Reed’s latest comments
Reed recently admitted thinking the PGA Tour is the best stage in the world. He also suggested that he would find it difficult to turn a return down if offered the same opportunity as Brooks Koepka.
And following his win at the Dubai Desert Classic this past week, Reed confirmed that he has not yet signed a contract with LIV Golf for the 2026 season.
Following the latest match in TGL, McIlroy was asked about the impact of Koepka making his PGA Tour return at the Farmers Insurance Open. And he went on to note what Reed’s comments say about the current state of the game.
“Yeah, I think it says more about Brooks than anything else. He obviously is a very competitive person and wants to compete at the highest level. I think he made the decision that he thought competing at the highest level meant coming back to the PGA Tour,” he said.
“You’ve seen others say this recently. Patrick Reed said it in Dubai last week. It seems like some of those guys are maybe starting to realise that they’re not getting everything that they wanted out of going over there, and that’s obviously a great thing for the PGA Tour.”
Why McIlroy may not be as keen to see Reed return to the PGA Tour
Obviously, the PGA Tour would have to find a way to justify allowing Reed back in. They did a brilliant job when it came to Koepka with the launch of the Returning Members Program.
It would not be the best look if they suddenly extended the window to ensure that Reed could come back. And in truth, it would be a real shock if the 35-year-old was not in Riyadh for the first LIV event of the season.
But it would certainly be a boost for the PGA Tour to have McIlroy and Reed facing off again.
Do you think Patrick Reed is treated unfairly by golf fans?
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McIlroy said his win at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic was ‘sweeter than it should be’ with the Northern Irishman making birdie on the final two holes to beat Reed by one.
The pair’s relationship seemed to have completely broken down over the previous few weeks, with Sky Sports noting that the lawyer representing Reed in a defamation lawsuit against several organisations had subpoenaed McIlroy on Christmas Eve.
Obviously, there probably needs to be a lot of work done before Reed is welcomed back with open arms. There is also a very good chance that he is making these comments simply to make sure that he gets the best possible deal from LIV.
But the PGA Tour would benefit from having someone like Reed back in the fold. Surely, McIlroy would admit that.
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