LIV Golf may have made Patrick Reed very wealthy but it’s also led to his drop in the world rankings, prompting a dig from Eddie Pepperell aimed at the former Masters champion
Eddie Pepperell has jokingly teased Patrick Reed for dropping out of the top 100 rankings following his choice to join LIV Golf.
Reed, a former World No. 5 and Masters champion who has won multiple PGA Tour titles, is projected to fall out of the top 100 this week, as indicated by stats account @VC606. In LIV Golf, players do not earn ranking points for their performances in tournaments, since the Official World Golf Ranking did not accredit them in October 2023.
Pepperell and Reed have shared beef in the past, and it’s been reignited after a cheeky comment. While Pepperell admitted that Reed is still a great player, he joked that he could threaten legal action due to his new ranking. “Terrific player still,” Pepperell wrote on X about the news. “Let’s hope he doesn’t sue the OWGR.”
The comment references Reed’s $750 million defamation lawsuit attempt aimed at members of the golf media. Not only was the case cleared, Reed was made to cover legal costs of the journalists and publications he sued.
Pepperell called Reed a “f clown” when he heard about the lawsuit. Reed has also been called out by Pepperell in the past, especially when he was accused of cheating back in 2018 at the Hero World Challenge.
“What the F were you thinking?” Pepperell wrote on X at the time. Reed joined LIV Golf in 2022, when a wave of golfers made the jump to the Saudi-backed tour and abandoned the PGA Tour.
Reed has earned over $18 million since switching to LIV in June 2022, an immense amount of money regardless of his OWGR ranking. But Reed insists he didn’t make the career move for money, writing in a caption on Instagram : “The team element is one of my favourite parts. We’ve got camaraderie and competition in the same tournament.
There are many wonderful things to appreciate! Participating in games on Friday through Sunday also contributes to the convenience.
If you have not yet attended, there are only a few opportunities remaining this season, and I truly believe that fans of this sport will surely have a good time. IYKYK.
Pepperell has remained faithful to the DP Tour, formerly known as the European Tour due to sponsorship reasons.
Despite keeping an eye on LIV Golf and attempting to support it, he still feels uneasy about the entire concept after witnessing the celebrations of the winners.
“I made an effort, sincerely, I attempted to watch this and experience some genuine emotion. Happiness, motivation, something,” Pepperell expressed on X in reply to a video of Bryson DeChambeau celebrating the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship. “But all I could do was cringe.
The entire event, the teams, the players – it’s all cringeworthy. I hate to criticize, but honestly, it’s just not captivating at all.”