It was the viral incident nobody could get enough of at the start of 2023.
A controversial exchange between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed transpired on the driving range at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic where Reed approached his old Ryder Cup foe to greet him in the new year.
While Reed shook hands with McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond in fuzzy footage taken at Emirates Golf Club, McIlroy blanked him which led to Reed walking away and chucking a tee in the Northern Irishman’s direction.
It became ‘tee-gate’ when Ten Golf released the footage after a day of teasing of us all…
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Patrick Reed-Rory McIlroy spat revisited two years later
The pair were peppered with questions about the viral clash before they played in Dubai. First up was McIlroy, who hit back at Reed’s antics by claiming that “if the roles were reversed – I’d be expecting a lawsuit.”
“(It was) nothing,” the former World No. 1 explained. “Patrick came up to say hello and I didn’t really want him to. 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. Obviously nothing – I can’t believe it’s actually turned into a story. Yeah, it’s nothing.
“I didn’t duck. I didn’t see it, no. My back was turned to him. I was down by my bag and he came up to me, and I was busy working and sort of doing my practise, and I didn’t really feel like… I didn’t feel the need to acknowledge him.
“So I didn’t see a tee coming in 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 from him.”
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The comments came amid Reed seeking legal action against a plethora of media outlets and journalists over a series of defamation claims at the time. On top of this, the LIV Golf star was previously a part of his circuit’s antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
McIlroy seemed to also make reference to other legal action Reed’s lawyer Larry Klayman brought towards the PGA Tour which he was included in, as he recieved legal documents ahead of Christmas.
So McIlroy explained his side of the snub of all snubs.
“I mean, I got a subpoena on Christmas Eve,” the Northern Irishman said. “You can’t pretend like nothing’s happening, right. I think that’s the thing. Like, why? We are living in reality here.
“(I’m) trying to have a nice time with my family and someone shows up on [my] doorstep and delivers that, [I’m] not going to take that well.
“So again, 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.”
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The 2018 Masters champion explained how his rival acted “like an immature little child”, causing him to toss one of his LIV Golf tees down as a “funny shot back”.
“Because of the relationship I’ve had with Rory,” Reed told the Daily Mail. “Let’s be honest, we’ve had some great battles at Augusta and other tournaments and our friendships been pretty good up until obviously joining LIV – I walked over there and wished (his caddie) Harry Happy New Year and then Rory because it is the first time I have seen them.
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“Harry shook my hand and Rory just looked down there and was messing with his Trackman and kind of decided to ignore us. We all know where it came from, being part of LIV. Since my tees are 4 Aces LIV tees I flicked him one. It was kind of a funny shot back. Funny how a small little flick has turned into basically me stabbing him and throwing a tee at him.
“He saw me and he decided not to react. But it is one of those things. If you’re going to act like an immature little child then you might as well be treated like one.”
The 2023 Dubai Desert Classic turned into a head-to-head battle down the stretch between Rory and Reed which led to the European Ryder Cup star winning the event for the third time. He won it again in 2024 and both players are in the field for 2025.
McIlroy is making his first appearance of the year, as is Reed who will begin the fourth LIV Golf season for 4Aces in February.
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