Justin Thomas reacts to tee-gate between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed...

The golf world discovered what it thought was a wooden missile launched by Patrick Reed at Rory McIlroy was merely a soft-handed motion that the Northern Irishman didn't even notice.

The footage that was shared on social media from Dubai may have been disappointing and not the friction we all envisaged, but it didn't stop the incident from earning the nickname "tee-gate."

The tame reality of the story has led to many humorous reactions from the golf world, including two-time USPGA champion Justin Thomas who responded to an Instagram post from Golf Digest.

The post showed a post-tee-gate quote from McIlroy which read: "If roles were reversed and I'd thrown a tee at him, I'd be expecting a lawsuit."

Thomas responded with: "Hope Rory and Pat gonna be ok to play after this terrible dangerous incident... what a tragedy!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Golf Digest (@golfdigest)

For those who aren't up to speed with why McIlroy ignored the advances of the former Masters champion, Reed's attorney Larry Klayman gave notice to courts in Florida's Palm Beach County that he would subpoena McIlroy and Tiger Woods for deposition back in August.

This was after the PGA Tour duo held a meeting with a number of other players in Wilmington in August. McIlroy has since revealed the subpoena arrived on Christmas Eve.

"I was down by my bag and he came up to me, and I was busy working and sort of doing my practice, and I didn't really feel like - I didn't feel the need to acknowledge him," the four-time major champion said on Wednesday.

"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.

Was so close to throwing a tee at you but you’re too nice

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) January 26, 2023

"I got a subpoena on Christmas Eve. I mean, I don't see - like you can't pretend like nothing's happening, right."

Max Homa and Collin Morikawa also enjoyed some fun on Twitter after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open, as you can see in the tweets above.

In case anyone forgot, there is also a golf tournament going on this week. The Hero Dubai Desert Classic started earlier today but with a delay of over six hours due to overnight rain.

Groups 23 to 44 won't play today, but McIlroy gets underway at 13.45 local time. Meanwhile, Reed has made a fast start to reach the top of the leaderboard in the very early stages of the first round.