AUGUSTA, Ga. — Patrick Reed desires to make one factor clear:
He’s nonetheless rooting for the Aces.
“Really, at the end of the day, I really enjoyed all my time over there at LIV,” Reed stated on Monday in a pre-Masters press convention. “It was a blast. Those guys are fun to be around, fun to play with. Especially there on the 4Aces. I still pull for them.”
Reed is an ex-Ace now and an ex-LIV golfer. He’s loved seeing his former workforce captain Dustin Johnson this week, he stated, whilst he enters this yr’s Masters in fascinating inter-tour limbo. He’s nonetheless suspended from the PGA Tour till late summer time, which implies he’s post-LIV and pre-PGA Tour, left with a restricted DP World Tour schedule plus the most important championships — and extra time at residence than he’s used to.
That half has its perks.
“I have no idea when the last time was I took three or four weeks off before Augusta. It’s been an unbelievable break,” stated Reed, who has two wins and a runner-up end in six DP World Tour begins this yr. “I’ve been out there obviously grinding, working on the game, but having the opportunity to take little man [his son] over to some golf lessons and then go to St. Louis with my daughter for volleyball tournaments.”
So what led to his LIV departure? Reed supplied some specifics, suggesting that household time was an element — “My daughter is now eleven; my little man’s eight. It seems like time has flown. I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more; yet still at the same time to play against the best guys,” he stated — however that a particular aggressive second served as a catalyst for change.
It got here in his second occasion of the season, the Dubai Desert Classic, when he went into the weekend in competition.
“Yeah, it definitely happened quickly, but it was one of those that, when I was over there in Dubai and playing, I really just kind of was sitting back and realizing that I wanted to get back and not only have an opportunity back on the PGA Tour, but get back to the traditional way of golf and playing,” he stated, describing the rhythm of a standard sequential tee-time match fairly than LIV’s shotgun begin.
“When I stood there in Dubai, that Saturday the entire range is full, and then guys just start disappearing, and you’re the last man on that tee box. Then you’re walking to the tee, you’re the last name announced, and you’ve lost the lead because someone is five under through 8. All those just rushes and those scenarios, going back into playing golf that way, where you’re going out there and you’re having the battles between not just yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard. For me, I wanted that back, I wanted that adrenaline back, and those feelings, especially with the way I played those last three weeks. But really there in Dubai.”
Reed was nonetheless negotiating with LIV on the time, figuring out phrases for the 2026 season. Because he wasn’t underneath contract, he stated, and departure grew to become a believable possibility.
“We had an offer, but at the end of the day, it was kind of one of those that, when I sat down at the end of the day and talked with my wife and my team, I just felt like the best decision for us was to come back and join the PGA Tour so I could be closer to home and with the family,” Reed stated. “Yeah, there’s nothing that I felt like was going on between LIV and us or anything like that. Like I said, we had a contract, had a deal, but at the end of the day, I felt like the best thing for us was to come to the PGA Tour again.”
On Jan. 28, the Tour announced Reed’s plans to return “later this year” along with his eyes on reinstating membership for the 2027 season. He would have some standing as a previous champion — and would search to earn extra by taking part in on the DP World Tour, which gives PGA Tour playing cards to its high 10 points-getters.
That week, in Bahrain, Reed completed T2. The subsequent week, in Qatar, he gained once more. Suddenly, his 2027 return was all but assured.
“Obviously it helps playing that type of golf when you’re making a decision like that,” Reed stated. “The golf game feels solid. I feel like every tool in my golf bag right now is sharp and ready to go. Now it’s just kind of go out and play golf and just have clear pictures while I’m out there and just go out and have some fun.”
He presently leads the Race to Dubai with 2,340 factors, practically 500 forward of second-place Jayden Schaper. This week, there are extra factors up for grabs. Reed says he’s simply desperate to have that likelihood.
“There’s just something so special about this place, the traditions behind it, and then on top of it, it’s the one major that stays in the same place,” he stated. Reed has 5 top-12s in his final six Masters begins and completed T3 final yr; this can be a place he feels at residence. “All the way back from when I played my first time ever here, even when we played in November that one year, and any time I’ve come back and played it, it’s always in perfect shape. It’s one of those golf courses that you can’t hit just one golf shot, you have to play golf kind of an old-school way. You have to hit shots, different shapes, different flights and everything.
“I feel like it’s the best test of golf we play all year round. For a guy that’s played just about everywhere in the world, I say hands down it’s the best test of golf and best golf course I’ve ever played.”
Even as the remainder of his schedule adjustments, one factor’s for positive:
Reed might be again at Augusta National this time subsequent yr, too.
