Ryder Cup battle, ‘co-conspirator’ allegations and LIV lawsuit - inside the Rory McIlroy vs Patrick Reed rivalry

Patrick Reed (left) and Rory McIlroy used to be on speaking terms but not any more. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Brian Keogh

January 24 2023 08:39 PM

Rory McIlroy tried to ignore Patrick Reed in Dubai and had a golf tee chucked at him in disgust in the latest chapter in golf’s bitter civil war and a fiery rivalry that will be revived at the Masters in April.

According to the Spanish golf portal TenGolf.com, the world No 1 had no interest in saying hello to Reed ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club.

Former Masters champion Reed (32), who has moved to LIV Golf but continues to play DP World Tour events until an arbitration case being held in the UK in a fortnight is decided, saluted McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond without incident.

But Reed, one of 13 LIV Golf players appealing against their suspension by the DP World Tour and already suing the PGA Tour in a class action suit that includes McIlroy as a “co-conspirator”, got no joy when he approached the Holywood star.

The world No 1 has been an outspoken opponent of LIV Golf, saying before last year’s BMW PGA he’d find it “hard to stomach” seeing rebels like Reed at Wentworth.

McIlroy remained on his hunkers looking at the ground when Reed approached him yesterday, and while the Texan got no response, he eventually gave up and walked away but not before putting his hand in his pocket and throwing a tee in McIlroy’s direction in disgust.

Reed hit out at McIlroy late last year, accusing him of being “hypocritical” over his criticism of LIV rebels.

“I feel like [Rory] making those types of comments is insulting,” he said, insisting he’d played more DP World Tour events than some US-based Europeans. “These other guys sitting there and talking saying you can’t play two tours, that’s hypocritical as ever; these guys are playing the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.”

The incident with Reed might be a storm in a teacup, but it was the talk of the range and comes after reports of tension between rank-and-file DP World Tour players and LIV Golf devotees during last year’s BMW International in Germany. According to The Telegraph, Sergio Garcia allegedly launched an expletive-laden rant at fellow DP World Tour players after being banned from the Scottish Open and fined by the DP World Tour for defecting to LIV Golf. “Sergio flew off the handle, shouting, ‘This tour is s***, you’re all f***ed, should have taken the Saudi money’,” said a player who wished to remain anonymous.

McIlroy’s once close relationship with Garcia is now non-existent, and a new chapter has been added to his combative relationship with Reed.

Nicknamed ‘Captain America’, Reed silenced McIlroy by winning their sensational singles match at Hazeltine in 2016, then denied him the 2018 Masters, where McIlroy, three strokes behind heading into Sunday, tried mind games on the eve of the final round. “I’m really excited to show everyone what I’ve got, to show Patrick Reed what I’ve got, and all the pressure is on him,” McIlroy said.

Reed shot 71 to McIlroy’s 74 and admitted hearing McIlroy get a bigger cheer as they walked to the first tee. “Not only did it fuel my fire a little bit, but also, it just takes the pressure off of me and adds it back to him”.

Despite their rivalry, McIlroy has been good to Reed, and when the Texan was assessed for a two-shot penalty for improving his lie in a bunker at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, he didn’t twist the knife. “Obviously, he has moved some sand, so it is a penalty,” McIlroy said. “But I don’t think it would be a big deal if it wasn’t Patrick Reed. A lot of people within the game, it is almost like a hobby to kick him when he is down.”

When accused of cheating during the Farmers Insurance Open in 2021 for taking free relief for an embedded ball in the rough before a rules official arrived, Reed defended himself by saying McIlroy had done the same the previous day, though it later turned out McIlroy’s ball was indeed embedded.

McIlroy didn’t like the inference, and as long as Reed and his LIV colleagues are suing the Irish star and his fellow professionals, sweet nothings of rapprochement appear doomed to evaporate on the desert air.