Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where two of our panelists are back from the College Football Playoff national championship and still basking in the Hoosier glow.
Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.
Patrick Reed is not eligible for the PGA Tour’s “Returning Member Program” but said he could see himself playing on Tour again someday. Eventually the Tour should allow other major champions like him to return under a similar program with financial penalties.
Bob Harig: FICTION. The Tour created a pathway for those major champions because they have exempt status on the PGA Tour. Reed does not, unless they were to allow use of a one-time all-time money exemption. (Reed is 40th with more than $40 million in career earnings; players can use a one-time top 50 exemption.) His last PGA Tour victory was in 2021. Dustin Johnson technically would have status as a life member. The Tour needs a pathway back but you’ll have a hard time convincing the membership that someone whose status lapsed because he went to LIV Golf should get full status. Reed, in theory, could play out of the past champion category; he could get sponsor invites; he could Monday qualify. But it’s difficult to simply give him or anyone without existing status a blanket return.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. For the Tour, this is the way because it wants to ultimately checkmate LIV, and creating some sort of pathway back is the only way to get rolling. Today it’s open to the four guys who won majors at LIV. Next phase I’d guess will include all major winners. Then all Tour winners. And eventually, everyone.
Max Schreiber: NEUTRAL. I echo Jeff’s sentiment. Major winners, pre-2022, and Tour winners could be next in line. However, how many of them on LIV are needle movers? Reed, Niemann, Sergio, Hatton, Watson? We’re probably good on Westwood, Kaymer, Gooch and Kokrak, to name a few. And is anyone really tuning into an event to watch those guys? Once the novelty wears off, everyone will go back to their respective rooting interests.
John Schwarb: FACT. I’ll admit, I just want Reed back for the chaos. There are no black hats currently on the PGA Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp, coming from the NFL, knows that rooting interests both for and against are what drive fan interest. Maybe a couple events in the reimagined schedule could be designated as LIV-friendly for a fixed number to be allowed to compete (let’s call it four players), with the pecking order determined via all-time money. Sounds like Reed would jump at the chance.
Vijay Singh, age 62, playing the PGA Tour on a one-time career earnings exemption, made the cut and finished T40 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Would be good to see him play more events this season against the youngsters.
Bob Harig: FICTION. Singh has the right to use the exemption, and if he chooses to do so more often, that is his call. But if you watched him at the Sony, he was struggling to get around. He still has an injury that is bothering him. This was viewed as one-off to prepare for this week’s Champions Tour opener in Hawaii. I could see Vijay adding a start or two but to make a habit of it is likely not wise.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. It’s not like Vijay embarrassed himself in Hawaii—he made the cut! He’s clearly not fit enough to play 15 PGA Tour events, but if he wants to roll back out there a few more times this season, I think he’s a good story.
Max Schreiber: FACT. An elder statesman trying to make the cut and/or beating a series of the world’s top players is good for gathering interest. But don’t get your hopes up, Singh has said he doesn’t plan to play away from the senior tour much this year.
John Schwarb: FACT. “More events” could be just two (Singh suggested to us that Phoenix and San Antonio are maybes), but I’m all for it. I’m closer to Vijay’s age than, say, Ben Griffin’s and found myself scrolling the Sony leaderboard just to find the Big Fijian, and suspect many other fans did too.
TMRW Sports announced the first group of committed players for a women’s TGL indoor league, including world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson. But a mixed league with men and women would have been better to try first.
Bob Harig: FACT. The PGA Tour has disappointed in its attempt to bring men and women together aside from one offseason event with a limited field. This could have been another step in that direction and a women’s-only version of TGL is risky. Integrating them with popular men players might have been an easier transition.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. The Olympics finally caught on to the potential of a mixed event. I imagine there are a ton of logistics that go into assembling two men’s TGL teams on a given night, and perhaps why that makes it challenging to add women to it. But I think even a couple one-off mixed events here would be a win.
Max Schreiber: FICTION. I could go neutral here again. Yes, it’d be fun to see a mixed league, and it’d likely attract more viewers, but there might be too many moving parts for that to come together. And perhaps, the women want to show they can be successful on their own, without the men’s help, just like the LPGA Tour has done for the past 75 years.
John Schwarb: FACT. Like Max said, the women certainly can stand on their own here but comparisons between the two TGLs will be inevitable and likely unfair to the women. Having a few stand-alone mixed matches first as icebreakers for the women and introducing them to fans could be beneficial—and maybe that could still happen, who knows.
Fans may remember that this week’s American Express, back in the Bob Hope Classic days, was a five-round tournament before cutting back to 72 holes in 2012. The Tour should have at least one regular-season event that is not four rounds.
Bob Harig: FACT. But I’d advocate for 54 holes instead. Why not have a tournaments, especially in the fall, that take away some of the infrastructure burden of a local organizer? It might be cheaper for TV, too.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. No reason not to mix it up a little. Also: who’s Bob Hope? (Kidding! Kind of …)
Max Schreiber: FICTION. It doesn’t seem like good business. How many people are tuning into Thursday and Friday golf on Golf Channel as it is? (especially this early in the season when golf is an afterthought to casual sports fans.) Now, another 18 holes? The players, Golf Channel and the Tour would probably pass.
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- How LIV Golf’s Roster of Players for 2026 Changed Beyond Just Relegation
- Vijay Singh Shares How Much More He’ll Play on PGA Tour
- Rory McIlroy Says LIV Golf Stars Should Pay Their Fines to DP World Tour
- 2026 American Express Preview: Field, Tee Times, Courses, History, How to Watch
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Reed Should Be Allowed Back on the PGA Tour.
