Patrick Reed has refused to be drawn on the arbitration hearing which ruled in favour of the DP World Tour over LIV Golfers.
The American is one of a number of LIV Golf players appearing at this week’s Masters and insisted his focus is purely on the matter at hand. However, while he was about to embark on his quest for a second title, across the Atlantic, the decision left the DP World Tour careers of affected LIV Golf players, including Reed, in jeopardy.
Reed flew to London to attend February’s hearing, which indicated he was particularly keen to have the right to continue his DP World Tour career without fear of sanctions, but he was adamant his focus is The Masters following his opening round at Augusta National. When asked if he was aware of the result, said: “No. I haven‘t been able to look at it. I was going to look at that and deal with all that after this week. My main focus this week is on this tournament.”
Further on, Reed was pressed on the issue and asked if he would read up on it. However, he reiterated that his main focus was the tournament. He said: “No. I'll be focusing strictly on this week. Once tournament week starts, especially Majors, I don't look at anything, read anything. When tournament starts, I have blinders on, focus on what's going on that week, and try to go out and play the best golf I can to win a golf tournament on Sunday.”
Before the tournament, there was controversy over the inclusion of LIV Golf players given the hearing and suspensions of its players from the PGA Tour, but Reed insisted that events away from the course had no bearing on his motivation going into the week. He said: “For me, it doesn't matter who I'm playing, where I'm playing, what I'm playing. It's about going out and playing the best I can, and hopefully on Sunday being one shot better than anyone else.”
Reed’s answers are similar to one given by fellow LIV Golf player Sergio Garcia on the subject of the arbitration hearing following his first round. In a tetchy exchange with reporters, the Spaniard said: “How can I talk about something I don't know? Obviously, I don't look at the news. So, I don't know what happened. I'm not going to talk about something without all the information that I need.”
As for Reed, he goes into Friday following an even-par opening round that featured four birdies and three bogeys.
