“I wanted the adrenaline back”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Patrick Reed wants to make one thing clear:

He’s still rooting for the Aces.

“Really, at the end of the day, I really enjoyed my whole time there at LIV,” Reed said Monday at a press conference before the Masters. “It was a blast. Those guys are fun to be around, fun to play with. Especially over there at 4Aces. I still pull for them.”

Reed is a former Ace now and a former LIV golfer. He enjoyed seeing his former team captain Dustin Johnson this week, he said, even as he enters this year. Masters in fascinating cross-tour oblivion. He’s still suspended from the PGA Tour until the end of the summer, meaning he’s post-LIV and pre-PGA Tour, left with a limited DP World Tour schedule plus majors — and more time at home than he’s used to.

This part has its advantages.

“I have no idea when the last time was when I took three or four weeks off before Augusta. It’s been an incredible break,” said Reed, who has two wins and a runner-up finish in six DP World Tour starts this year. “I’ve definitely been out there grinding, working on the game, but I’ve had the opportunity to take the little guy (his son) to some golf lessons and then go to St. Louis with my daughter for the volleyball tournament.”

So what led to his departure from LIV? Reed offered some specifics, suggesting that family time was a factor — “My daughter is now eleven; my little boy is eight. It feels like time has flown by. I definitely want to watch them grow up and be at home a little bit more; but at the same time play against the best guys,” he said — but that one specific competitive moment served as a catalyst for change.

It came in his second event of the season, the Dubai Desert Classic, when he went into the competition weekend.

“Yeah, it definitely happened quickly, but it was one of those things that, when I was there in Dubai and I was playing, I really sat down and realized that I wanted to come back and not only have an opportunity to come back to the PGA Tour, but to go back to the traditional way of golfing and playing,” he said, rather describing the pace of a traditional tournament of starting a shot on LIV time.

“When I was there in Dubai, that Saturday the whole range is full, and then the guys just start disappearing, and you’re the last man in that tee box. Then you’re walking to the team, you’re the last name announced, and you’ve lost the lead because somebody’s five to 8. They all just rush and those scenarios, going back to the golf game that way, playing golf that way. yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard, for me, I loved that adrenaline and those feelings, especially with the way I played those last three weeks.

Reed was still negotiating with LIV at the time, working out terms for the 2026 season. Because he wasn’t under contract, he said, leaving became a plausible option.

“We had an offer, but at the end of the day, it was one of those that, when I sat down at the end of the day and talked to 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 family,” Reed said. “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, we had an agreement, but at the end of the day, I felt like the best thing for us was to get back on the PGA Tour.”

On January 28, Turi DESIGNATED Reed plans to return “later this year” with his eyes on renewing his membership for the 2027 season. He would have status as a past champion — and would look to earn more by playing on the DP World Tour, which offers PGA Tour cards to the top 10 points finishers.

That week, in Bahrain, Reed finished T2. The next week, in Qatar, he won again. suddenly, his return in 2027 was certain.

“Obviously it helps to play that kind of golf when you’re making a decision like that,” Reed said. “The golf game feels solid. I feel like every tool in my golf bag is now sharp and ready to go. Now it’s just going out and playing golf and having clear shots while I’m out there and just going out and having fun.”

He currently leads the Race to Dubai with 2,340 points, nearly 500 ahead of second place Jayden Schaper. This week, there are more points up for grabs. Reed says he’s just eager to get that chance.

“There’s just something so special about this place, the traditions behind it, and then, to top it off, it’s the first to stand in the same place,” he said. Reed has five top-12s in his last six Masters starts and finished T3 last year; this is a place he feels at home. “All the way back from when I first played here, even when we played in November of that year, and every 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 just hit one golf shot, you have to play golf in an old-school way. You have to make different shots, everything with flights, different shapes.

“I feel like it’s the best test of golf we’ve played all year. For a guy who plays almost everywhere in the world, I’d say it’s the best test of golf and the best course of golf I’ve ever played.”

Although the rest of his schedule varies, one thing is certain:

Reed will be back at Augusta National this time next year.

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