2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed left LIV Golf before the league’s funding crisis forced it to file for bankruptcy. However, a return to the PGA Tour wasn’t possible, as he still had to serve his suspension for joining the breakaway league. Instead, the Race to Dubai leader turned to the DP World Tour. And as he makes his mark on the European circuit, Reed has delivered a reassuring message to his former LIV Golf colleagues.
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“This year fully playing on this tour only has been something I’ve really enjoyed, and I feel like the guys have enjoyed having me come over and playing,” Reed said during the DP World India Championship press conference. “I don’t feel any different. I feel like the guys have accepted me from day one.”
Although the 36-year-old has received a warm welcome, not everyone on the DP World Tour believes LIV Golf players should be allowed to return so easily. With LIV’s bankruptcy proceedings, several of its players could look to the European circuit for their next opportunity. Many are even expected to join the tour before LIV Golf can re-sign their players before the October 25 deadline.
Jon Rahm, for instance, is already a DP World Tour member and could resume competing on the circuit, while five LIV Golf players have already entered the DP World Tour’s Qualifying School. Meanwhile, the DP World Tour has laid down an ultimatum for LIV Golf players considering their options for 2027.
The circuit has announced that players who sign with LIV Golf for the 2027 season will not be permitted to compete in DP World Tour events and will lose their status. This marks a contrast with its earlier approach, under which LIV players were allowed to compete after paying fines. It will force many LIV players to end their contract with the breakaway tour for good.
In any case, DP World Tour player Joost Luiten is among those who believe LIV Golf defectors should not be handed an easy route back. He argues that players who left for the lucrative offers from LIV Golf should have to go through Q-School like everyone else to earn their place on the tour. And Patrick Reed understands this stance.
“I can see how some of the guys would sit there and have an issue with guys coming over and just playing just the big events,” he added. “I’ve come over and played everything from big events, small events, events in the middle. I feel like it hasn’t been any different for me.”
It might not have been different for him, but DP World Tour is expected to treat returnees differently. While Rahm may resume play in a major event, others might be required to first pay past fines and compete in smaller events before being granted full rights on the tour. That said, Patrick Reed is correct in his claims as well. Unlike Luiten, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy’s opinion on the matter differs.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, India, the Northern Irishman claimed that if he had the vote, he would allow LIV Golf players to come back to the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Although he acknowledged that having the players back will leave some players with hard feelings, it’s ultimately “very good for business, and that can drive revenues up.”
That said, Patrick Reed has plenty of reasons to be optimistic, as he is currently in contention to become only the second American in history to win the Race to Dubai title. However, he faces stiff competition from Eugenio López-Chacarra, who sits second in the standings, and Rory McIlroy, who occupies third place and is on course to claim his eighth Race to Dubai crown.