Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy Get Into Altercation on Driving Range

It sounds like Rory McIlroy of the PGA and Patrick Reed of LIV golf had a bit of a dust-up this week as both players prepared to play ahead of this week’s Dubai Desert Classic. According to a story that was published by Spanish media outlet Ten-Golf.com Tuesday (via The Independent), Reed tried to say hello to McIlroy — who has been very public about his distaste for the LIV Golf Tour — on the driving range at the Emirates Golf Club. The story goes that McIlroy ignored him, which didn’t sit well with Reed.

Reed waited for a few seconds and greeted McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond. McIlroy continued to completely ignore Reed, which really bothered the 2018 Masters champion. Witnesses say that Reed took a tee out of his pocket and tossed it at McIlroy before walking away.

Reed signed with LIV last year and then filed a defamation lawsuit against analyst Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel. It was a lawsuit that was dismissed last week by a federal judge in Florida. McIlroy, who has already been an avid supporter of the PGA tour and has not liked the fact that PGA golfers have taken off for the quick money was likely not in the mood to talk to Reed, who had just been in the press for many of the reasons McIlroy is so against.

While LIV golfers have been banned from PGA Tour events, they are still permitted to take part in DP World Tour (aka European Tour) tournaments, at least while the case against them participating plays out in court.

This is not the first time McIlroy has had issues with golfers who are now with the LIV tour. Let the jokes begin about what it means that someone threw a tee at another golfer. One golf writer, Jason Sobel joked that this golf’s version of a bench-clearing brawl.

Jim Parsons

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