AUGUSTA, Ga. — Patrick Reed rolls into Augusta this week with a new outlook on life, and a new Tour in his future. The former LIV Golf player and 2018 Masters champion is playing some of the best golf of his career, and he’s preparing to make the leap back to the PGA Tour.
“When you look at it, the best players in the world and the deepest fields from top to bottom are on the PGA Tour,” Reed said Monday afternoon at Augusta National. “I’ve played, now, every tour. I’ve played on every single one of them.”
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Reed was one of the earliest signees to LIV Golf, and part of Dustin Johnson’s championship 4Aces team. In 2025, Reed claimed his first individual LIV title in Dallas. But at the end of that season, his contract with LIV ended, giving him options beyond just the Saudi-backed golf tour.
After Brooks Koepka announced his departure from LIV Golf shortly before Christmas, the wheels started to turn in Reed’s head. At the Dubai Desert Classic in January, the wheels led him toward a plan.
“When I was over there in Dubai and playing,” he said, “I really just kind of was sitting back and realizing that I wanted to … have an opportunity back on the PGA Tour, but get back to the traditional way of golf and playing.”
Reed won that tournament by four strokes, vaulting him back into the top 30 in the world, but before his final round, a moment stuck with him.
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“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,” he said. “Then you’re walking to the tee, you’re the last name announced, and you’ve lost the lead because someone is 5-under through 8. All those just rushes and those scenarios, kind of 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.”
LIV Golf, of course, does not allow for such a scenario, given that every player starts at the same time at a different spot on the course. There’s no chasing down leaders who teed off before you in LIV, there’s a simultaneous sprint to the finish.
So Reed initiated what will be a long process to return to the PGA Tour. Reed must wait a year after playing his last “unauthorized” (i.e. LIV) event on Tour, which came in August 2025. Between now and then, he’ll play on the DP World Tour, continuing to amass a number of ranking points and status that would have been more difficult to achieve on the LIV tour.
Reed seems at ease with the decision, despite the substantial time commitment. “To be honest with you, it was one of those decisions that I felt like was the best, not just for the golf game, but also for my family to spend more time with them,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it obviously being at home and spending time with the kiddos and my wife.”
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Reed has played in 27 different countries, by one count, since 2022, a massive time and energy commitment. Clearly he’s looking to spend a bit more time closer to home, and with LIV continuing to gear up its international reach, the two parties weren’t quite a fit.
“At the end of the day, I really enjoyed all my time over there at LIV. It was a blast. Those guys are fun to be around, fun to play with,” he said, adding that “for me, I felt like [the PGA Tour] was the best place for me.”
Reed will begin his 2026 Masters on Thursday, where he’ll be one of the dark-horse favorites at the event. He has four top-10 finishes in the last six Masters, including a T3 at last year’s tournament.
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