McIlroy confirms he blanked Reed in Dubai

By Sports Desk January 25, 2023

Rory McIlroy saw no need to defend his actions after he blanked Patrick Reed at a practice session ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic.

Reed is alleged to have thrown a golf tee at McIlroy after the world number one refused to acknowledge him.

McIlroy has stressed he did not see a tee being thrown at him, while Reed denied it.

However, McIlroy explained he has no desire to speak to Reed, who the Northern Irishman has claimed sent him court papers on Christmas Eve.

Reed is one of several high-profile players to have joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series last year, a Saudi-backed breakaway from the PGA Tour, the main tour for which McIlroy has become an unofficial spokesperson over the past 12 months.

"Patrick came up to say hello and I didn't really want him to," McIlroy told reporters in Dubai.

"From my recollection, that was it. I didn't see a tee. I didn't feel a tee. Obviously, someone else saw that.

"But it's definitely a storm in a teacup. I can't believe it's actually turned into a story; it's nothing.

"I was down by my bag, and he came up to me. I was busy working and sort of doing my practice. I didn't feel the need to acknowledge him."

It is unclear if McIlroy will take any further steps, though the 33-year-old added: "I didn't see a tee coming my direction at all, but apparently that's what happened. And if roles were reversed and I'd have thrown that tee at him, I'd be expecting a lawsuit."

McIlroy also suggested Reed must be living in a different world if he believed the four-time major champion would shake his hand.

"I was subpoenaed by his lawyer on Christmas Eve," McIlroy said.

"Trying to have a nice time with my family and someone shows up on your doorstep and delivers that, you're not going to take that well.

"I'm living in reality, I don't know where he's living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't expect a hello or a handshake."

McIlroy again reiterated his opposition to LIV Golf, saying: "There's no point in just being a mouthpiece when you can't back that up by playing good golf and showing people the rewards people can have out here if they are playing well.

"It's a merit-based system. That's the thing that I've always struggled with: if a five-year-old boy or girl know that they work hard and they shoot the scores, there's a merit-based system in golf all the way through junior golf, amateur golf, all the way up to the professional level, and they can make it to the top levels of the game.

"This is the one thing that's come into the game that has disrupted that. It's not a merit-based system."

Related items

  • William Knibbs wins Constant Spring Golf Classic by five strokes in trying conditions William Knibbs wins Constant Spring Golf Classic by five strokes in trying conditions

    William Knibbs battled the weather and a tough field to emerge champion of the two-day Constant Spring Golf Classic that concluded on Sunday at the Constant Spring Golf Club in Kingston.

    Knibbs had a two-day score of 152 to end up five shots ahead of Zandre Roye after both had scored 78s on Saturday’s opening day.

    "It felt great to win today (Sunday). I was tied for the lead coming into today. (I) didn't get off to a hot start, doubled the first hole. (The) first swing went out of bounds so after the first hole today (Sunday) I gave myself a three-shot deficit to overcome, which at times extended to a four-shot deficit between me and Zandre (Roye) but I was able to hold it down towards the end. I played really well on the back-nine. That helped me to narrow the gap," Knibbs said afterwards.

    Dr. Mark Newnhan with scores of 83 and 79 (162) was the third spot edging last year's winner Sean Morris who scored 164 after posting 89 and 75 over the two rounds.

    Jodi Munn-Barrow was the only woman in the field and gave a good account of herself with scores of 77 and 76 for a combined total of 153.

    The top performers in the various categories were:

    Men & Men Senior 7-12 - Bruce Levy 159 (77, 82), Bruce Lopez 173 (88, 85) and Christopher Carvalho 174 (88, 86).

    The Men and Men Senior 13-24 category went to Mitchell Watson - 185 with scores of 86 and 99.

    Mike Gleichman 159 won the Men Super Senior 0-12 section over Metry Seaga 164. Ronald Ross 166 copped third place.

    Linval Freeman 194, George Wright 197 and Paul Chai Chong 199 were the top three in the Men Super Senior 13 -24.

    The Masters category went to Vivian Monteith who posted 183 over the two rounds.

    The only junior in the field was Jerone Thomas who competed in the Boys Under 18 category. He posted 184 for his two rounds.

  • Lee breaks through with victory after four-way playoff at LIV Golf Tucson Lee breaks through with victory after four-way playoff at LIV Golf Tucson

    New Zealand's Danny Lee won a dramatic four-way playoff at the LIV Golf Tucson as Sergio Garcia's Fireballs GC took out the team event by four strokes on Sunday.

    The 32-year-old South Korea-born Lee, who turned professional in 2009 but only won once on the PGA Tour, held his nerve in the playoff to edge out Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen and Brendan Steele.

    Lee, in his second LIV Golf event, claimed victory in style in the third playoff hole with a putt from off the green on the 18th hole.

    "The individual victory means a lot," Lee said. "I haven't won since 2015. I just felt like winning is just not my thing but today just changed that. It’s good to see I’m capable of playing some good golf."

    Lee had spurned the chance to clinch victory a hole earlier when he missed a six-foot birdie putt after a brilliant approach.

    The New Zealander was part of Kevin Na's Iron Heads GC, who finished third in the team rankings at 19 under, with Garcia's Fireballs winning at 25 under. Dustin Johnson's 4Aces were second at 21 under.

    "I wasn’t even looking at the individual score all day," Lee added. "I was only asking about 'how is our team doing?'. That's the reason why Kevin [Na] called and that’s the reason I’m over here."

    Oosthuizen had looked the favourite on the players' leaderboard down the bank nine but dropped shots, only to produce an incredible birdie on the final hole to force his way into the playoff.

    Steele stayed in the hunt with a fine par save on the 16th after his approach slid off the green and into the rough. Ortiz surged into contention with a final day six-under round.

    Marc Leishman came into the final round leading by two strokes, but posted a six-over 77 to tumble down the leaderboard into a tie for 13th.

  • Taylor Moore swoops to take the Valspar Championship as Spieth, Schenk falter late Taylor Moore swoops to take the Valspar Championship as Spieth, Schenk falter late

    Taylor Moore is now a winner on the PGA Tour after shooting a terrific four-under 67 on Sunday to finish atop the Valspar Championship leaderboard.

    Moore, 29, is in his second full season on the tour. After four top-10s last time around, and three consecutive top-15 finishes at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Phoenix Open, he now has his first victory.

    However, he needed some help from the final pairing, as co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk both failed to hold on down the stretch.

    Moore's 67 was tied for the second-best score of the day, carding birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th to pull into a tie for the lead on 10 under when he finished his round.

    As he stayed warm on the practice range, Spieth found the water and bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind, but he gave himself a birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff. 

    Meanwhile, Schenk was tied for the lead on 18, but a poor drive landed right at the base of a tree, meaning the righty had to scramble it back into the fairway left-handed.

    Spieth had the first putt to try and join Moore at 10 under but raced it past, subsequently missing the comebacker to drop down to a tie for third.

    Schenk went up next for par to earn a spot in a two-man playoff, but his putt cannoned into the lip of the hole and stayed out.

    England's Tommy Fleetwood finished tied with Spieth in third at eight under, and there was a two-stroke gap back to Wyndham Clark alone in fifth at six under.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.