Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy have had a frosty relationship since the American joined LIV Golf.
Rory McIlroy had never shied from criticizing LIV Golf, and his relationships with its players has suffered as a consequence.
Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy have a long-standing rivalry, Phil Mickelson has had plenty to say about the 2025 Masters winner, and Lee Westwood was the latest to exchange words with him.
Among the LIV players to have clashed with McIlroy is Patrick Reed, who joined in 2022. Their beef featured an infamous tee-flick incident, which McIlroy was not happy about.
The reason why Rory McIlroy snubbed Patrick Reed
In January 2023, when McIlroy was in the practice area in preparation for the Dubai Desert Classic, Reed approached him and his caddie, Harry Diamond. He shook Diamond’s hand and then attempted to shake McIlroy’s, but the Northern Irishman ignored him completely.
Reed laughed, and as he was walking away, he tossed a tee in the direction of McIlroy. He explained his actions afterwards: “Rory just looked down there and was messing with his Trackman and kind of decided to ignore us.
“We all knew where it came from: being part of LIV. Since my tees are Team [4] Aces LIV tees, I flicked him one. It was kind of a funny shot back. Funny how a small little flick has turned into basically me stabbing him and throwing a tee at him.
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“He saw me, and he decided not to react. It’s unfortunate because we’ve always had a good relationship. … But it’s one of those things, if you’re going to act like an immature little child, then you might as well be treated like one.”
McIlroy didn’t notice at the time, but he was later told about what Reed did. He explained why he ignored the LIV star: “Patrick came up to say hello, and I didn’t really want him to.”
When asked if he noticed, he said he didn’t see or feel anything, adding: “But apparently that’s what happened. And if roles were reversed and I’d have thrown that tee at him, I’d be expecting him [to file] a lawsuit.”
That was a sly jab at Reed’s defamation lawsuit a month earlier aimed at members of the media, so it clearly rubbed McIlroy the wrong way!
Patrick Reed’s 2025 LIV Golf season
While some of the players in his generation of golfers struggled to find form on the LIV tour in 2025, Reed had a solid season, featuring a win and a seventh-place finish in the Individual standings.
Reed won his first LIV event in Dallas, one of five top-10 finishes of the 2025 season for the 2018 Masters winner. He finished fourth in Korea and seventh in the UK during his best LIV season.
Rory McIlroy’s comments on LIV Golf after the framework agreement was announced
Reed had been knocking on the door for his first LIV win since joining in 2022, finishing second twice and third five times over three seasons. He finally got the job done in 2025.
With a third-place finish at The Masters and the BMW PGA Championship this year, you can absolutely call it a successful season for Reed!
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