Reed's long road back: Leaving LIV, waiting out return and playing in Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Patrick Reed has played golf all around the world, often out of choice, now out of necessity. Necessity so that he can start playing closer to home again. One of the early and polarizing defectors to LIV Golf a few years ago, the 2018 Masters champion made the similarly difficult decision to leave the lucrative, Saudi-backed tour earlier this year and return to the PGA Tour. But under the terms of his reinstatement, Reed cannot play in its events until after Aug. 25, which means most of this season will be spent on the European tour. Where he already has won twice ahead of his return to Augusta National this week. "Everyone kind of gets to be a creature of habit, and wants to eat what they're comfortable with and go," Reed said after a practice round Monday, "but I like checking out all the local places and really experiencing the culture." Pimento cheese sandwich, anyone? The truth is as much as Reed enjoyed playing in Dubai and Qatar, where he packed wins around a playoff loss in Bahrain — 1,200 miles (7,500 km) from home, wife Justine and their two kids — there are few things Reed loves more than walking among the Georgia pines. It's not exactly home; that's The Woodlands, Texas. But it sure feels like it. Reed played college golf down the road at Georgia, and he recalls practice rounds spent at Augusta Country Club, where certain holes offer a teasing glimpse through the trees of the par-5 13th hole of its much more famous neighbor. "There's just something so special about this place, the traditions behind it, and then on top of it, it's the one major that stays in the same place," Reed said. "All the way back from when I played my first time ever here, even when we played in November that one (COVID) year, and any time I've come back and played it, it's always in perfect shape. It's one of those golf courses that you can't hit just one golf shot. You have to play golf kind of old-school way. You have to hit shots, different shapes, different flights." Indeed, the Masters has been one of the few constants on Reed's ever-changing global calendar. When he resigned from the PGA Tour, Reed effectively said farewell to familiar, high-profile places like Pebble Beach and Bay Hill for LIV events in far-flung corners of the world. But his status as a former Masters champion meant that, despite the deep rift that once appeared to threaten the game itself, Reed was always welcomed back to Augusta National. He tied for fourth a few years ago. He was third last year. "I feel like it's the best test of golf we play all year round," Reed said. "For a guy that's played just about everywhere in the world — just about — it's one of those places that I say, hands down, it's the best test of golf and best golf course I've ever played." Reed acknowledged Monday that LIV had presented him with a contract earlier this year to remain one of its biggest stars. But when he talked with his family, "I felt like the best decision for us was to come back and join the PGA Tour." Even when he left, Reed said, he always considered the PGA Tour to be the best barometer of golf greatness. "I've played now every tour. I've played on every single one of them," Reed said. "That's the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out, but at the same time, to be able to spend more time closer to home makes it a lot easier to spend time with the kids. "My daughter is now 11. My little man's 8. It seems like time has flown," the 35-year-old Reed said. "I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more, yet still at the same time to play against the best guys." Reed will be able to do that this week. And again on a weekly basis soon enough. But until his PGA Tour return this fall, Reed is building out a DP World Tour schedule that includes a few weeks spent on the road followed by a few spent at home. It's a work-life balance that seems to work at this point in his life. "You not only sharpen your game, but you get a lot of family time," Reed said. "Those travels overseas, it's going to be a lot this year, but at the same time, I can't wait to obviously go out there and compete, but at the same time, come home and see the family." ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf