Patrick Reed May Be On to Something

Patrick Reed is right.

As reported by Golf Digest, Reed believes that any professional golfer who meets a tour’s minimum events requirement should be eligible to play on that tour. LIV Golf has a 14-event schedule. If a LIV golfer is willing to play a full LIV schedule and still satisfy the PGA Tour’s event minimum (15), why should he be barred from competing on either tour?

From the PGA Tour’s perspective, there are valid concerns. Allowing LIV players to compete in select premier PGA Tour events could lead to a talent exodus, threatening the Tour’s talent pool. Without the threat of a suspension, players would immediately sign with LIV and round out their schedules with whichever tour events they wanted, which could strip top-end talent out of many of the PGA Tour’s fields and spell the end of the tour. And to be clear, LIV wouldn’t allow players to choose a sampling from their full menu of tournaments either. Neither their team nor individual competition would withstand players skipping the tournaments they don’t feel like playing. Both tours need their top players to compete in all of their top-tier events. For LIV, that’s every event. For the PGA Tour, those are the Signature Events.

Perhaps a solution for the PGA Tour is to treat its Signature Events like LIV treats their tournaments. Reinstate LIV players, the majority of whom wouldn’t have status in Signature Events. Stipulate that any player who skips a Signature Event they qualify for is suspended from Signature Events for a significant time (a year?). Alternatively, players might be allowed 1-2 Signature Event skips per season as long as they don’t compete elsewhere during those weeks.

A policy like this wouldn’t impact LIV golfers too significantly in the short term. Of the 10 LIV events already announced for 2025, five are scheduled against either a Signature Event, FedEx Cup Playoff event, or the Players Championship. Therefore, LIV golfers would effectively be ineligible to compete in Signature Events because they are contracted to play in conflicting LIV events, which would immediately trigger a suspension. But if a LIV player has PGA Tour status and wants to tee it up at the Farmers Insurance Open, or whatever it’s called once they’ve canceled their sponsorship, their presence improves the strength of the field and adds value to the tournament. Why stop them?

Most PGA Tour players would oppose such a policy, viewing it as a reduction of their playing opportunities. However, LIV players would only take up spots in non-Signature Events, tournaments that are desperate to benefit from an infusion of talent and fan interest. The only way for LIV players to participate in Signature Events would be to fully commit to the schedule, effectively relinquishing their LIV status. If a PGA Tour player truly wants what’s best for the PGA Tour, they’d welcome a LIV player making that decision.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.