As LIV's season begins, Patrick Reed's exit highlights new reality

Brooks Koepka’s LIV Golf departure didn’t catch many people off guard.

Patrick Reed’s defection, on the other hand, seemed to come out of nowhere.

Reed won the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic and revealed during his winner’s press conference that he was still negotiating his next contract with LIV Golf. Three days later, Reed announced that he was leaving LIV and planned to rejoin the PGA Tour after serving a suspension.

That Reed’s defection came during the same week that the PGA Tour welcomed Koepka back like a conquering hero only added to the appearance that the Saudi-backed league had been wounded by losing two of its biggest names. Reed’s explanation to ESPN about his decision only further battered the competitiveness of the breakaway circuit.

“After winning, I realized just how much I missed the grind and the dogfight; that’s who I am,” Reed told ESPN.

As our James Colgan wrote, the loss of Koepka and Reed only highlights the bigger issue facing the rebel circuit as it begins its fifth season in Riyadh this week. A league that burst onto the scene in 2022 and prioritized name-brand recognition over everything has now lost two of its headliners, and having Reed suggest the “grind” was different or missing on LIV only worsened the sting.

As LIV Riyadh kicks off this week, Reed’s departure was a topic of conversation. Golfers still playing under the LIV banner spoke to a new Reed-free reality.

“I think each one is going to do whatever he thinks is best for them,” Jon Rahm said in Saudi Arabia of Reed. “At this point, I just wish him nothing but the best of luck. Hopefully it all goes well. We’re free to choose where we want to play golf. At least that’s how it should be. And he’s made his choice, obviously. Nothing really against him. He’s been playing fantastic golf, and if he wants to go back, he should have the chance to do so.”

“We’re free to choose where we want to play golf. At least, that’s how it should be.”

Rahm, who was eligible to return to the PGA Tour through the “Returning Members Program” that brought Koepka back, will remain on LIV. While Reed was out of contract and Koepka had only one year left, Rahm joined later and would likely have to forfeit a substantial amount of money to break his contract now.

However, Rahm’s desire for true “freedom” to play wherever he wants is not new. It’s something he has voiced ever since joining LIV as he waits for the world of pro golf to unify.

“I’m hoping that in the near future I can be back playing some of those [PGA Tour] events,” Rahm told reporters at LIV Las Vegas in 2024. “I would certainly love to go back and play some of them. If there’s ever a way back and a way where we can play, even if it’s as an invite, I will take it.”

Playing on both tours is not an option. But, for the first time since the start of golf’s civil war, there is a realistic avenue to get back to the PGA Tour — for Koepka, and for Reed, and even for Hudson Swafford, Pat Perez and Kevin Na. That’s something that didn’t exist a month ago when Koepka’s immediate competitive future was uncertain.

Rahm’s teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, struck a similar note while being clear about the impact that losing a major champion like Reed will have on LIV’s product.

“He was out of contract, and he had options and decided that for him to move forward that he wanted to go back and play on the PGA Tour. That’s his choice,” Hatton said. “He’s an amazing player. If he was playing on LIV still, he makes the league stronger, but he’s chosen his path, and you can only wish him the best moving forward.”

LIV has big decisions on the horizon.

Bryson DeChambeau’s contract is done at the end of the year. The Telegraph reported that the two-time U.S. Open champion is looking for a contract in the $500 million range. He has already stated that primarily being a YouTube golfer is a “viable” option. Further down the road, LIV will also have to consider Rahm’s next contract. LIV needs superstars. Their value to the league has only increased. It needs stars for a path toward long-term viability.

Losing Koepka and Reed was a blow to LIV. The breakaway circuit is pushing forward, but with a weakened roster missing two of its marquee names, and with a path back to the PGA Tour now clear for anyone who’d like to try to take it.

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