Patrick Reed Leaves LIV Golf, Plans PGA Tour Return In 2026

Nine-time PGA Tour winner Patrick Reed announced Wednesday that he would not be playing in LIV Golf this season and he is looking to be reinstated to the PGA Tour for the 2027 season.

“I’m a traditionalist at heart, and I was born to play on the PGA Tour, which is where my story began with my wife, Justine,” Reed said in a statement. “I am very fortunate for the opportunities that have come my way and grateful for the life we have created. I am moving forward in my career, and I look forward to competing on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. I can’t wait to get back out there and revisit some of the best places on earth.”

The PGA Tour announced that Reed would be eligible to return on August 25, which would be about a calendar year after his last event played in LIV. This would make him eligible to compete in the 2026 FedEx Cup fall events as he looks to regain status on the PGA Tour for 2027.

Reed resigned from the PGA Tour in 2022, shortly after signing with the startup LIV Golf Tour, the Saudi Arabian backed league. “I loved my time on LIV,” Reed told ESPN. “I became a different person because of the friendships with players I’ve made. Family is my priority and playing closer to them is what really matters. I can’t get days back.”

Once reinstated, Reed will have to try and get into FedEx Cup fall events through sponsors exemptions or Monday qualifiers. For the 2027 PGA Tour season, Reed has requested that his PGA Tour membership be reinstated as a past champion. He can also get his tour membership back if he were to win a fall event or finish in the top-10 on the DP World Tour in 2026, where after two-weeks, he currently is second in the standings. In order to be reinstated, Reed will have to forfeit his player equity in the PGA Tour until 2030.

“I always saw myself coming back to the PGA Tour,” Reed said. “I know I have to earn my way back, and I’m OK with that.”

On Wednesday, chief competitions officer Tyler Dennis and chief player officer Jason Gore wrote a memo to PGA Tour members saying, “We remain committed to strengthening the PGA Tour, serving our fans and welcoming back players who wish to return through a consistent, policy-based process. We want to ensure fairness to our current members while maintaining competitive integrity and transparency in how we apply the Regulations and non-member policies to former PGA Tour members who seek reinstatement-and to be clear, reinstatement terms are not negotiated or modified on a player-by-player basis.”

Rory McIlroy, the world’s number two ranked player, commented this week saying, “You’ve seen others say this recently. Patrick Reed said it in Dubai last week. It seems like some of those guys are maybe starting to realize that they’re not getting everything that they wanted out of going over there, and that’s obviously a great thing for the PGA Tour.”

Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials.