Patrick Reed, recognised as one of the leading figures without a win on the LIV Golf circuit, is determined to change that narrative in 2025.
Having been one of the prominent golfers to join LIV in 2022—a list including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and team captain Dustin Johnson—Reed has seen considerable success in team events, playing a pivotal role in steering the 4Aces to their first-ever Team Championship.
Yet, as an individual competitor, the former Masters champ has found himself tantalisingly close without securing a victory during the LIV tour's first three seasons.
Speaking with Mirror Sport about his goals, Reed expressed his determination to break his winless run: "I definitely want to get that one win off my back."
He also said, "Everyone keeps saying, 'You are one of the best of the best guys out here who hasn't won,' and I want to get that of there, I don't like hearing that. It is hard to win in golf. The percentages are always against you but someone has to win every week and the more times you are in contention you give yourself a chance and it makes it easier to win."
A successful season this campaign would be well timed, with the Ryder Cup returning to the United States at Bethpage Black in September. Throughout the early stages of his career Reed looked to have all the components to succeed on the Ryder Cup stage, impressing on debut in 2014, before helping guide his nation to victory on home soil at Hazeltine two years later.
The American proved to be the star of the show in 2016, with his fiery approach and aggressive golf game making him Davis Love III's secret weapon on the way to the win. Two years later he was back in the fold as the Americans lost to their European rivals in Paris, but since, two more Ryder Cups have passed Reed by.
He ended 11th in the 2021 US standings, but was controversially left out of the captains pick's at the time, with Steve Stricker instead opting to go with a fresh-faced Scottie Scheffler.
Then in 2023, Reed's LIV loyalties seem to all but end his chances of making Zach Johnson's team, with players only able to earn points whilst competing on the PGA Tour.
This time around though, things are different. Team USA's 2025 captain Keegan Bradley has already declared he will pick the best 12 players at his disposal, regardless of where they play their golf, meaning a good run over the coming months, teamed with his past experiences, could well make him a captain's pick.
Reed is eager to represent the US once more, saying, "It is always on my radar the Ryder Cup. Making that team."
Related articles
He acknowledges the difficulty of securing a spot within the formidable American ranks, adding, "It is going to be hard for us to make it on the US side. Especially when points are based off PGA Tour events."
Reed is resolved to show his capabilities, explaining: "Hopefully I can play really well and give myself chances to win golf tournaments out here and any time I tee it up, go out and play the best I can to show that. But yeah [the Ryder Cup] is always on my mind that time of year it comes around. Any time I can wear the red, white and blue it means so much to me, any time the USA can go and play somewhere or for something I always up for it."
His sentiments echo amid news that Bradley's selection process could favour players from varied tours, which was a glint of hope for players like Reed after the 2023 captain Johnson included hardly any LIV players, Koepka being the exception owing to his PGA Championship triumph.
Reed remarked on Bradley's approach, "It shows a lot about Keegan," acclaiming the captain’s intent to assemble the best group over personal affiliations, he said, "Going out and wanting to pick the best team rather than just picking your buddies. Doing something like that as a captain is important, going out and putting out the best possible team. I felt like the last Ryder Cup hands were tied and it was a little bit harder with everything going on in the game of golf, so it was a little bit more challenging for the captain to put the best together."
Reed stated: "So Keegan coming out and saying that he wants to put the best guys out there means it should be good. Hopefully we can get that cup back. Even though I was not on the team, you still feel it."
There was a sense of unease in men's professional golf ahead of the last Ryder Cup due to rifts between the PGA Tour and LIV, but things seem to be calming down following recent talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Initially, there was speculation about a potential 'merger', but Patrick Reed thinks the PGA Tour and LIV can coexist peacefully.
He said: "Hopefully we can just start focusing on golf rather than PGA Tour vs LIV or DP World Tour vs LIV and more about the guys vs the guys. Obviously some guys didn't like that some guys jumped and played on a different league, but at the same time I think it has really helped grow the game of golf and showed a different side of it, LIV is different, it is trying to show a different side of golf."
"We don't need another league that is exactly like the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour. We are trying to bring the younger generation into golf. How do you do that? Add music, a team aspect, have it be faster, have it not last as long with a shotgun start, have the concerts. It shows a new side of golf and a newer age. I think golf needs both. Not one or the other golf needs both because the traditionalists will tend towards the PGA Tour, whereas the kids or younger generation who want a faster pace, there is a perfect spot to see that at LIV."
Not many know the LIV setup better than Reed, having been one of the first to make the jump three years ago, and every step of the way he has found himself alongside his captain Johnson. The 4Aces skipper dominated the LIV scene in 2022, winning the league double, before things slowed down slightly in 2023 and 2024.
With a new season upon them both Reed and Johnson are keen to resume their teams dominance on the back of a recent quiet period, in a warning to their rivals. "DJ's a silent assassin," Reed said of his captain.
"It is good because when he does say something you know it means something and you listen. He is going to be a little different this year though. He and I talked and we weren't happy with how the season was last year, and I think we are going to see a different side to DJ this year."
