Former Masters champion Patrick Reed earned a winning statement on Sunday at the 2026 Dubai Desert Classic. But the longtime LIV Golf pro made an even bigger statement after his round.
Three weeks before the start of the 2026 LIV Golf season, Reed revealed that he is still not signed to play in the league this year.
But Reed went further, admitting that he had made another plan for this season if he didn’t sign with LIV.
Here’s what you need to know.
Patrick Reed’s shocking admission about the LIV contract
Reed finished his first start of the new year in style on Sunday, closing with a final-round 72 to take a four-shot victory at the Dubai Desert Classic. It was the fourth DP World Tour-sanctioned win of Reed’s career, and possibly his biggest win since the 2018 Masters.
The former PGA Tour star’s most recent win before Sunday came at the 2025 LIV Golf Dallas tournament last June, where Reed prevailed in a four-way tournament to capture his first LIV victory.
For Reed, who won nine PGA Tour events before moving on to LIV Golf in 2022, Sunday’s win is important. Unlike his victory at LIV Dallas, his victory in Dubai earned him more points in the world ranking. His OWGR ranking heading into Dubai, 44th, will improve significantly on Monday.
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But the most shocking news of Sunday came after Mhlanga won. Despite finishing 7th in the 2025 LIV, Reed revealed that he has not yet signed a new contract with LIV Golf for 2026.
And the season starts in three weeks in Saudi Arabia.
“We are still completing the plan [LIV Golf] agreement. We’re not done with that yet,” Reed began at a press conference after the tournament on Sunday in Dubai.
When asked to clarify his statement, Reed confirmed that he is not currently signed with LIV, and although he expects to join the start of the LIV season in Riyadh in the first week of February, he is not in the field as of now.
“Not that I know of. Not right now. It really just depends on everything,” Reed explained. “I mean, I haven’t talked to the team back home or anything like that. But right now, I’m planning to put it together over there in Riyadh, and I’d be surprised if we don’t.”
Although Reed earlier this week commented on paying DP World Tour fines by playing LIV events (and his interest in playing on the PGA Tour again), he had not acknowledged the onerous nature of his LIV contract.
On Sunday, he explained that he pushed his LIV situation into his head this week as he tried to focus on winning the tournament.
“And then, it’s just kind of one of those things, you know, getting here this week, knowing that when Thursday gets here, I’m just focused on golf and only golf.” You know, starting tonight and tomorrow, we’re going to go back to talking about things like that,” Reed said. “But really, the biggest thing for me right now is to go out and play well this week. Obviously I got the win. And then hopefully he can carry that momentum into next week and hopefully be competitive late on Sunday again.”
On that note, it was a task accomplished by Mhlanga. But he revealed something else Sunday: He has one eye on the PGA Tour if his LIV contract talks go sour.
A bleary-eyed path to the PGA Tour if LIV’s contract falls through
Although Reed sounds confident that his LIV contract will end before the season starts, he is making another plan for the year in case he doesn’t play in LIV.
And that one way ends on the PGA Tour.
Reed first revealed that he is not in talks with the PGA Tour “at this time,” then said that if he does not sign with LIV, he will play the DP World Tour in 2026 with the goal of returning to the PGA Tour.
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“Keep playing out here [on the DP World Tour] and be in the Top 10 and be on the PGA Tour next year,” Reed began, referring to the fact that the top 10 players on the DP World Tour list at the end of the season will receive a 2027 PGA Tour card.
“Yeah, I mean, if I end up not playing at LIV this year, obviously it’s going to be one of those things where I’m going to be playing a lot on the tour and trying to secure one of those spots in the Top 10, and allow myself to get back on the PGA Tour,” Reed continued.
But he reiterated that as he focused on his golf this week, he had not received any updates from his team regarding LIV’s contract negotiations.
“It’s one of those things with contracts and stuff. There’s a lot of talking and words in contracts and everything, and really, right now, I mean, I don’t know where everything stands,” Reed said Sunday. “I mean, it’s all done and done. I mean, I haven’t talked to my team the last few days. It’s been a weird time, obviously, at home compared to being here.”
One thing is certain after his big win in Dubai on Sunday. If Reed hasn’t signed with LIV this season, his asking price has just gone up.
;)
