Patrick Reed of LIV Golf throws a tee at Rory McIlroy in disgust after being ignored

Patrick Reed went all out on Rory McIlroy – literally.

The two golf stars were on the driving range at the Emirates Golf Club on Tuesday for this week’s Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour when Reed, who set out last year for the controversial LIV Golf backed by the Saudi Arabia, approached McIlroy and stood a few feet away. to say hello. The Northern Irishman did not look up or acknowledge him, according to Spanish outlet TenGolf.com.

Reed then recognized McIlroy’s caddy and held on for a few more seconds, but McIlroy continued to ignore him. Reed then walked away and in the process threw a tee in McIlroy’s direction in disgust, the report said.

McIlroy, the world No. 1 and four-time major champion, has been a vocal critic of the breakaway circuit since its launch last year, with Northern Irishman and LIV CEO Greg Norman trading verbal jabs repeatedly l ‘last year.

Reed, who won the 2018 Masters, was suspended by the PGA Tour after going to LIV, but continues to play DP World Tour events until an arbitration case next month determines whether the European Tour may also ban players who play on LIV from its tournaments. The 32-year-old has also found himself embroiled in another controversy, after he filed a defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and analyst Brandel Chamblee, although that case was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida on Friday.

This week’s tournament is the first of the year for McIlroy, who is coming off three wins in 2022 and has won both the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup.