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Patrick Reed has delivered the latest high-profile blow to LIV Golf by announcing he will leave the circuit before the start of its 2026 season.
The 35-year-old American former Masters champion joins Brooks Koepka by instead focusing on the PGA Tour. Reed will spend his immediate time on the DP World Tour, where he won the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday. Reed tees up in Bahrain from Thursday.
It would now only be natural for LIV to be anxious about talent drain which once ran in their favour.
Reed’s post-tournament media conference in Dubai saw him surprisingly reveal he had not yet committed to LIV for this year. He joined the Saudi Arabian-backed tour in 2022 in a deal worth tens of millions of dollars. In a statement posted on Wednesday, the 2018 Masters winner explained his switch.
“After careful thought and consideration, my family and I have decided that I will no longer compete on the LIV Golf Tour,” said Reed. “I am excited to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour as a past champion member for the 2027 season and am eligible to begin competing in PGA Tour events later this year.
“I will continue to compete and play as an honorary lifetime member on the DP World Tour, which is something that I am truly honored and excited to do. I’m a traditionalist at heart, and I was born to play on the PGA Tour.”
In its own statement, the PGA Tour said: “Patrick Reed has informed the PGA Tour of his desire to return. A nine-time PGA Tour winner, he is seeking reinstatement of his PGA Tour membership for the 2027 season, playing out of the past champion category.
“As a result of resigning his membership in 2022 prior to violating any PGA Tour regulations, Patrick is eligible to compete on the PGA Tour as a non-member beginning on August 25, 2026. He may also pursue improved PGA Tour status via the DP World Tour.”
The top 10 players on the DP World Tour’s order of merit, not already exempt, earn PGA Tour cards this year. Koepka was immediately reinstated on the PGA Tour via criteria which applied to major winners from 2022 onwards.
Koepka and Reed leave Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith as the most significant players on LIV. Attention will naturally turn towards if or when that trio seek to beat a path back towards the PGA Tour.
