Patrick Reed is set to return to the UK later in August to play in the inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship.
The 2018 Masters champion is one of several LIV players to tee it up in the $1.5m event in the 12th leg of the 2023 Asian Tour and the sixth stop on its International Series. Reed, 32, joins Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann among a host of players from the LIV roster at the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews just four miles from the Old Course at the 'Home of Golf'.
The 7,230-yard venue, previously host on the DP World Tour and European Seniors Tour as well as being a venue for Open Qualifying, will now welcome a number of LIV players including South Africans Dean Burmester and Branden Grace, Australian Matt Jones, Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, Colombian Sebastian Munoz, New Zealander Danny Lee and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.
But it is Reed who has performed best at this year’s Majors following a share of fourth at Augusta in April, joint 18th at the PGA Championship, tied for 56th at the US Open and equal 33rd at the Open.
Ahead of the event from 24-27 August, Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner & Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’ve had some strong fields at our International Series events thus far and the St Andrews Bay Championship is no exception. It’s wonderful to have such prominent players compete more regularly on the Asian Tour since the establishment of the International Series and this definitely validates the Asian Tour’s growth into a global Tour.
“I know this will motivate and inspire our Asian Tour members to raise their games. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to test themselves against genuine world-class players at a world-class venue.”
Winner of nine tournaments worldwide, Reed achieved his highest world ranking of sixth in June 2020 and is fourth in the individual LIV standings after helping the 4 Aces top the team event.
In the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational series, he was in the top-five three times, including a runner-up spot in Bangkok, and finished fourth in the Individual Champion standings.
As LIV Golf is not accredited by the Official World Golf Ranking system, LIV members like Reed, who is ranked 50th, have chosen to play the Asian Tour to still get points and help them secure entry to the Majors.
Part of the Asian Tour’s 2023 ‘UK Summer Swing’, the St Andrews event will be preceded by the International Series England, at Close House in Newcastle.
The Asian Tour’s International Series comprises 10 events, featuring elevated prize funds. Following the first four International Series events of 2023, American Andy Ogletree leads the way in the overall standings.
In the meantime, Reed and the 4 Aces are due to be back in LIV action on Friday at the Old White at The Greenbrier.
