After winning the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Patrick Reed hinted at a potential return to the PGA Tour. He said that the LIV contract negotiations are underway and that he is a free agent for the time being. Days after the revelation, the American golfer stunned the golf world with an announcement on X confirming his exit from LIV Golf and a planned return to the PGA Tour.

“After careful thought and consideration, my family and I have decided that I will no longer compete on the LIV Golf Tour,” Patrick Reed wrote.

The decision comes just a day before Brooks Koepka is set to tee off at the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed’s exit makes the situation even more complicated, as the contract negotiations were at a late stage.

Reed, wearing 4Aces apparel in Dubai, hinted at his plans to tee off on the DPWT if contract negotiations with LIV Golf don’t go as planned. Turns out it didn’t go as expected. And he is ready to come back not just to the DP World Tour but the PGA Tour itself.

“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,” Reed added in the social media post. Currently, he faces a one-year ban from the time he last played in the Saudi-backed league, which was on August 24, 2025, at LIV Golf Michigan.

The ban will lift in August 2026. This means that he will be eligible to play in the Fall events, but with significant caveats. Notably, while departing for LIV in 2022, Reed gave up his Tour card. So, currently, he is a non-member, and since he is not a PGA Tour cardholder, the only way for him to compete in Fall events is via sponsor invites or Monday Qualifiers.

It will be interesting to see if Reed decides to grind with other PGA Tour hopefuls and journeymen in Monday Qualifiers. But he has other hopes too.

Reed also confirmed plans to continue playing on the DP World Tour as an honorary lifetime member.  He will aim to finish in the top 10 in the Race to Dubai Rankings. This will get him a PGA Tour card for 2027, which will give him a full exemption. He is already 2nd behind Jayden Schaper. There is another pathway as well.

Patrick Reed can fight at the Q-School. Per Golf Channel, the former LIV Golfer is exempt through the final stages if he can maintain his current World Ranking (29). Or, if he can manage to stay within the top 50 in the world. Again DP World Tour will come to his aid.

Reed, a nine-time PGA Tour winner, is in the DP World Tour’s Bahrain Championship this week. If Reed can continue his strong performance throughout the year, he can manage to be inside the top-50. But right now, his best hope seems to be through the Race to Dubai rankings. However, his return will come with a punishment as well.

The PGA Tour said in a statement, “Any former PGA Tour member returning to the PGA Tour would be ineligible for participation in Player Equity Program through 2030.” So, like Brooks Koepka, Reed will have to let go of equity; however, in his case, the Tour didn’t offer any estimated amount.

He is the second elite golfer, after Brooks Koepka, to leave LIV Golf and return to the PGA Tour. The 9x PGA Tour winner joined LIV Golf in 2022, when it was established. He was one of the most promising golfers on the roster. Over the four years, he finished at No. 4 in 2022, No. 6 in 2023, No. 20 in 2024, and No. 7 in 2025.

Notably, Reed also thanked Dustin Johnson, The 4Aces, and LIV Golf in his post. But with Patrick Reed gone, there’s one more spot open in the 4Aces GC, one that Dustin Johnson will have to find a replacement for soon. Interestingly, LIV Golf renewed DJ’s contract. However, Reed’s departure raises questions about LIV’s current situation.

The Saudi-backed league has already spent a hefty amount on players and tournaments without any significant return. There were rumors that players would have to accept a “pay cut” during contract negotiations. Reed, however, refused to comment on the matter.

Notably, when Reed was speaking about his LIV contract in Dubai, he also hinted that he wanted to end a long-running feud between him and Rory McIlroy. Looks like Reed might get a chance to pull off his strange plan soon.

Top Stories

DP World Tour Pro Punished for Failing Doping Test With Lengthy Suspension Verdict

Nelly Korda Rips Into Tiger Woods’ Women’s League as She Questions Charley Hull & Co. Over Silence

Camera Catches Rory McIlroy Taunting Patrick Cantlay Over Painfully Slow Golf Habit

Farmers Insurance Open 2026: 5 Biggest Names Absent From the $9.6 Million Event

Brooks Koepka Talks Nerves, Tiger Woods, and Feeling Accepted Again Before His First PGA Tour Start

Patrick Reed on ending feud with Rory McIlroy

During the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic final round at Emirates Golf Club, Reed approached McIlroy for a handshake on the range. However, McIlroy refused because of a subpoena from Reed’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, in a defamation lawsuit against the PGA Tour. The American then threw a tee toward McIlroy, calling him an “immature little child.”

The Northern Irishman dismissed it, saying he’d face a lawsuit if the roles were reversed. McIlroy won the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic by one shot. At the 2026 Dubai event, Reed joked about “breaking the ice” by grabbing tees or letting McIlroy throw one. He even called the 2023 incident “hilarious.”

Even McIlroy mentioned Reed in a comment at a TGL match on January 27, 2026. He noted the 9x PGA Tour winner’s comments at the Dubai event, and said that LIV golfers are now realizing why they should be back on the PGA Tour.

Interestingly, these two might face each other at the Genesis Scottish Open, which is a co-sanctioned event with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Reed is eligible to tee off there. He is also to be a captain’s pick on the 2026 Presidents Cup team.

This hints at the potential end of the “Tee-Gate” feud between the two. However, only time will tell if things go as smoothly for Patrick Reed as he hopes. In the meantime, his LIV exit marks that he is back in the hunt for majors, ranking points, and a second act.