Former Masters champ slams PGA Tour: "They wanted to keep me in that role"

LIV Golf's Patrick Reed has lashed out the PGA Tour for painting him as 'a villain' during his time on the North American circuit.

Reed was among the first golfers to be recruited by the PIF-backed breakaway in the summer of 2022. 

His decision to make the leap was not in the least surprising given he has long been considered as a controversial figure on the PGA. 

Reed was accused of cheating more than once and is understood to have had a frosty relationship with some of his peers. 

The American, 34, has always maintained he has never broken the rules and is simply misunderstood. 

In a recent YouTube video with LIV, Reed claimed the PGA Tour just wanted to keep him in 'one role' even when he had success. 

Reed won nine times on the PGA Tour before joining LIV, including the 2018 Masters. 

"They painted me as a villain, which, hey, I don't mind being the guy that goes out there to wreck everyone's day," he said. 

"I mean, that is fine. But I felt like whenever I did something successful or did the things that really meant a lot to me, those kind of things kinda got brushed underneath the table because they wanted to keep me in that role."

He added: "When you do something right you should be praised about it and when you do something wrong then, hey, yeah, you deserve to get attacked."

The golfer was likely referring to being penalised for improving his lie in a waste area during the 2019 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. 

Reed said that once people get to know him, though, they don't see the side that is painted in the media. 

"I know it's impossible to please everybody and for everyone to like you," he said.  

"If you try to make everyone in the world like you and try to please everyone then you will drive yourself insane.

"I mean, being Captain America and being passionate about not only my country but my game and golf and how much I love hanging out with my kids and family is very important to me. That's who I really am. 

"I feel like they didn't really showcase a lot of that before I got on LIV."  

Reed's position is similar to reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau. 

Like Reed, DeChambeau joined the league in 2022. His popularity has soared over the last 18 months. 

DeChambeau previously explained he did not like seeing the image he projected while he was on the PGA Tour. 

Memorably, he did not get on well with Brooks Koepka and was accused of playing far too slowly. 

DeChambeau was involved in other controversies, such as criticising his equipment after the 2021 Open.

"I haven't changed who I am, it's just people [are] finally feeing who I am," DeChambeau said. 

Reed and DeChambeau are back in action this week in Korea for stop seven of LIV's 2025 schedule.