LIV Golf announced eleven days ago the renewal of Dustin Johnson‘s contract, as well as the signing of Thomas Detry to complete the Aces team. The other two members of the quartet, according to the Saudi league’s statement, are Thomas Pieters and Patrick Reed. Well, Reed revealed this Sunday, just after winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, that as far as he knows, it cannot yet be guaranteed that he will play in LIV Golf this year.
The 2018 Masters champion explained that he is negotiating with the Saudi league to continue for another year, although the agreement has not yet been finalised. Are you then a free agent at the moment?, he was asked. “Yes, I am,” he responded emphatically. It was really a surprise, especially since there are only two weeks left to start the LIV Golf season in Riyadh.
It should be noted that Reed has not said at any point that he will not continue in LIV Golf, although he has not made any drama about it if it were to happen. “We are finishing closing the contract. It is not complete yet. We might be talking about this right now, and it turns out the renewal is signed. My team handles those things, and they never talk to me about it when I’m in a tournament. I haven’t heard anything about the negotiations for four days. We will talk tonight and tomorrow, Monday, and see what happens. For now, my plan is to play there in Riyadh, and I would be surprised if it wasn’t so,” he states.
Indeed, Patrick has made an effort to show that he doesn’t care too much if the new contract with LIV Golf is not closed. “Good golf takes care of everything, doesn’t it? It has always been that way from day one. If you play well in high school, it gives you college scholarships. If you play very well in college, it gives you sponsors and the option to try to play on the circuit. Then you play well in qualifying school and on the tour and get a card on the PGA TOUR, and so on. Yes, if in the end, I don’t play in LIV this year, I would obviously be around here playing more on the DP World Tour and trying to secure one of those Top 10 spots to return to the PGA TOUR next year.”
Obviously, Reed is aware that this victory gives him even more weight in that negotiation. The golfer joked about it. “It’s an incredible victory. That trophy weighs a lot more than I thought” (smiles). He has not specified where the disagreements might be for not having signed the renewal yet. It’s a matter of contracts. There’s a lot of language, many clauses… and, at this point, I don’t know exactly where everything stands. It could already be closed and complete, but I haven’t talked to my team these last few days. Also, due to the time difference with my home, it’s been a weird moment. My team is very good at letting me focus on golf during the week, especially when the tournament starts. I will talk to them tonight or tomorrow morning to see where everything stands.”
Beyond his negotiation with LIV, Reed has highlighted the importance of this victory, which practically assures him of his presence in the four Majors. He was already sure of the Masters as a former champion, in the PGA he is also a fixture due to the top 100 in the world, as well as in the US Open. The Open would remain to be secured, although he is well on his way. With his victory in Dubai, he is initially going to enter the top 30 in the world, pending what happens at the American Express.
“Hopefully this is a springboard to have a really solid year. Last year was a ‘close’ year for everything, but it was hard for me to get the victory. Now, by doing it in January, hopefully, I can carry it throughout the year and make some noise. I’ve made some swing changes in the pre-season, and it’s nice to see they work,” he commented.
Regarding the outcome of the tournament, Reed admitted that Puig put the screws on him with birdies on holes 8 and 9. “Although I wanted to tell myself: ‘I stick to my plan, the same as the first three days,’ I noticed that I was trying to protect that four-shot lead, instead of going out to play. That’s why on the first nine holes, I was leaving it 15 metres on almost every green. The two decent opportunities I had, I didn’t take advantage of, and that’s why it was a very flat first round. With his birdies on 8 and 9, when he got to two, I knew: ‘Okay, your lead is practically gone. You have to go out and play.’ I hit two quality shots on 10, had the small stumble on 11, but it didn’t cost me because he did the same. On 13, the par 5, I played exactly as I wanted to make birdie; and there, at that point, he gave me a gift with his mistake. From there, I could enjoy the end of the round. But yes, we learned a lot today. Today was more mental. Even with a big lead, you have to stay hungry and try to extend it, not protect it. I think it’s something natural: most human beings, if they start the day with a comfortable lead, tend to protect it at the beginning instead of playing normal golf. That’s why the matter got much more interesting from 10 than I would have liked,” he clarified.
Finally, he made a strong statement about the importance of being a golfer who plays all over the world. “I think the only way to grow golf and show it is for the best players in the world to travel and play. Let’s be honest: as an American, it’s easy to stay home and play the PGA TOUR; you don’t have to travel much. But to grow the game globally, you have to travel the world. I’ve taken it very seriously. I’ve talked to a lot of people since I was young about being a ‘world player,’ not just one who stays home. I feel that, as a player, as a major champion, and as a Ryder Cup player, it’s almost our duty to travel and play around the world to showcase the game. It can only help. And the easiest way is for the superstars to play everywhere. Not just in the United States: everywhere. I’m going to stay true to that: I’m going to travel and play, and that’s why I love coming to play on this tour.”
As things stand, the only sure thing with Patrick Reed is that next week he plays in Bahrain. “That’s for sure. At 8:30 in the morning, I catch the plane. Let’s see if on Sunday we can be in a similar situation to today.”
