The post Patrick Reed refiles defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee, adds 3 more golf journalists appeared first on Golf.

The post Patrick Reed refiles defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee, adds 3 more golf journalists appeared first on Golf.

Patrick Reed has withdrawn his $750 million defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and analyst Brandel Chamblee from Texas federal court — only to refile and add new defendants in the state of Florida.

First reported by The Athletic, attorney Larry Klayman on Wednesday refiled Reed’s suit in the Middle District of Florida’s U.S. District Court, based in Jacksonville, adding new defendants: Golf Channel’s Shane Bacon, Damon Hack and Eamon Lynch. Parent companies Golfweek and Gannett were also named in the new filing.

The suit alleges that “calculated, malicious, false and/or reckless attacks” have led to Reed losing several multi-million dollar sponsorships and had a direct effect on Reed and his family’s livelihood.

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Reed was among the PGA Tour pros who joined the Saudi-funded LIV Golf this summer, defecting from PGA Tour and banned from returning by commissioner Jay Monahan.

“Defendants have conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, its executives, and Monahan to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed, misreporting information with actual knowledge of falsity and/or reckless disregard of the truth, that is with actual and constitutional malice, purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old, to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him, with the intention to discredit his name and accomplishments as a young, elite, world-class golfer, and the good and caring person, husband and father of two children that he is,” the suit reads. “It is well-known on tour that Mr. Reed has been abused and endured more than any other golfer from fans or spectators who have been allowed to scream obscenities, only to be glorified by Defendant Golf Channel for doing so, because it gets the Defendants “clicks,” viewership, ratings and increased revenue. For Defendants, it does not matter how badly they destroy someone’s name and life, so long as they rake in more dollars and profit.”

The suit lists examples of the defendants’ analysis of Reed controversies on Golf Channel. It also cites a story written by Lynch, who also contributes to Golfweek, which is owned by Gannett. [Editor’s note: Lynch is a former GOLF employee.]

Reed, 32, won over $32 million in his career on the PGA Tour. His biggest victory remains his only major title, when he won the 2018 Masters.

He’s finished 3rd, 5th, 33rd 13th in his four LIV Golf events, although his team, the 4 Aces, captained by Dustin Johnson, have won the team competition in all four of those starts.

You can read the full lawsuit here.

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The post ‘The media have painted me as this black hat’: Patrick Reed opens up on lawsuit, LIV appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘The media have painted me as this black hat’: Patrick Reed opens up on lawsuit, LIV appeared first on Golf.

Patrick Reed, in addressing his defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and analyst Brandel Chamblee, says the narrative against him is “he’s a horrendous person, he’s a cheater, a liar and a thief” and that “you have to fight back, fight for yourself, and fight for what you believe in.”

In the exclusive interview with the Sunday Times, Reed also says comments made by Rory McIlroy over LIV Golf player participation this week in the BMW PGA Championship are “insulting.” And after his final round on Sunday at Wentworth Golf Club, Reed told reporters that should a LIV golfer ever win a non-LIV event, “there would be some kind of media s*** storm.”

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The lawsuit comments were his first known on the subject, and we’ll begin there. Last month, Reed filed a defamation suit in the Southern District of Texas against Chamblee and Golf Channel, alleging they “have conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, its executives and its Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed.” The lawsuit uses quotes from Chamblee from his time on the air for Golf Channel and Sky Sports as well as on podcasts to allege damages in excess of $750 million. 

In the interview with the Sunday Times — which you can read in full here — Reed said he needed to defend himself. 

“Everyone who knows the true me knows it’s not this narrative that the PGA Tour and the Golf Channel have built,” Reed told the Sunday Times. “It feels like the media have painted me as this black hat, and they’ve just allowed that to keep on driving their clicks as well as the amount of income they can bring in from attacking me. They run with everything they can find or try to spin it in a negative way. It’s hard to even talk about it because of how fictitious it is. The malice and deceit to say something like that about somebody is just ridiculous.”

Continuing his thoughts on the lawsuit, Reed admitted to the Sunday Times that he’s brought on some of the attention himself, noting comments he made on Jordan Spieth and Jim Furyk at the 2018 Ryder Cup, but he also said he’s never cheated. Notably, Reed was penalized for brushing away sand from behind his ball in a waste area during the 2019 Hero World Championship, though he has maintained that he did not mean to skirt the rules. 

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“I have never ever intentionally tried to break any rule of golf to gain an advantage on anyone,” Reed told the Sunday Times. “I take too much pride in the hard work I do each and every day to try and gain an advantage in such a petty and deceitful way.”

On the subject of LIV Golf player participation at the BMW PGA, McIlroy had said after his victory at the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship that it would be “hard to stomach” seeing LIV golfers at Wentworth, then reiterated that thought in his pre-tournament press conference. 

Reed, meanwhile, had played on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour before joining the threat to both leagues, LIV Golf, and he and 17 other LIV golfers played the BMW PGA on the DP World Tour this week, ahead of a trial that should determine whether he and other LIV players can play more DP World Tour events in the future.

“I feel like [Rory] making those types of comments is insulting,” Reed told the Sunday Times. “Let’s be honest, I’ve [played the DP World Tour] more consistently than some of the Europeans on the PGA Tour, so for them to take shots at other guys, especially Billy [Horschel] and Rory taking shots at the LIV guys saying they shouldn’t be here — I’ve done more for this Tour than Billy has and I’ve played almost as much as Rory has for the past five years.

“I was able to talk to a bunch of DP World Tour players [on Tuesday] and not a single one of them had any issue with me being here because of the support I’ve shown this tour throughout my career, throughout Covid and at smaller events as well as big events.”

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After Reed’s final round at the BMW PGA, where he shot a nine-under 63 to finish tied for fifth, he said again players were supportive throughout the week. Also during the press conference exchange, a reporter later asked: “Is it going to get to a point where people are too entrenched in their positions to change?” 

His answer also spoke to a comment he made in late June during his introductory LIV press conference, where he said the LIV schedule would allow him more family time. 

“I don’t know. To be honest with you, I have no idea,” Reed began. “Really at the end of the day, I feel like everyone has to come to terms with their decision. How I look at it especially a part of this tour, especially me being American and being, hey, guys, I’ve played on two tours my whole life, my whole career. I’ve played on the PGA Tour and European Tour at the same time. I don’t see any difference me playing on PGA Tour and here and playing on LIV and here at all.  

“If anything, with playing on LIV and them only having 14 events, that means I’ll be over here more. That means I play six or seven events. Guys are like, oh, you joined LIV to play a lesser schedule. Well, I’m a guy that’s played 31 to 34 events a year. So if I played 14 and say I play six here, that’s 20, so that’s 11 to 14 events left. That’s 11 to 14 extra weeks I can spend time with my family and that’s huge. 

“But at the end of the day, as a player, I hope they do the right thing and allow us to play, but at the end of the day, that’s not our decision.”

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A reporter then asked: “How do you think the golfing world will react if a LIV player did win one of these?” 

At the BMW PGA, four LIV golfers finished in the top 20 — Reed tied for fifth, Talor Gooch was fourth, Lee Westwood tied for 13th, and Sam Horsfield and Abraham Ancer tied for 18th. 

“I don’t know,” Reed began. “At the end of the day, the guys that are on LIV are really, really good golfers. I’m sure there would be some kind of media s*** storm is the easiest way to put it, but that being said, it would be no difference if it was last year and guys were playing the PGA Tour, would it?

“I mean, at the end of the day, really, if you took everything away, all the hoopla of everything, it would be just another top player coming over and winning a golf tournament, whether it’s PGA Tour, LIV, European Tour. There’s no big media just frenzy when a European comes over and wins on the PGA Tour, and when Billy [Horschel] won here it felt like the same as if a normal player won from over here. I don’t think there should be anything different. It just shows that the guys are still ready to play and guys are hungry to win and really just hungry for competition.”

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The post Judge in Reed-Chamblee defamation suit is avid golfer and ‘absolute stickler for the rules’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Judge in Reed-Chamblee defamation suit is avid golfer and ‘absolute stickler for the rules’ appeared first on Golf.

Of all the legal venues in all the world, Patrick Reed’s defamation suit against Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee has landed in the chambers of Alfred H. Bennett, a federal judge in Texas.

While Reed has little reason to know much about Bennett, Bennett is surely aware of Reed.

The judge is a golf fan and an avid golfer. At Golf Club of Houston, where he belongs, he has recorded 15 rounds in the past six months, and five more at other courses, according to his GHIN profile. His handicap index is 7.6, and you can bet he’s not sandbagging, friends and colleagues say.

Judge Bennett isn’t one for fudging numbers.

“He’s an absolute stickler for the rules,” said Randy Wilson, a justice in the 14th Court of Appeals who has played numerous rounds with Bennett. “He counts every stroke and putts out everything.”

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So reverent is the judge toward the game’s regulations that he carries a copy of the Rules of Golf in his bag. He’s not afraid to break it out in the name of fair decisions.

“There have many times when we’ve gone deep into the weeds over the nuances of the rules,” Wilson said.

On one occasion, Wilson said, a debate arose over the proper drop after a ball crossed into a creek. Was the hazard line defined by a straight line between red stakes, or did it follow the curvature of the creek? Bennett argued for the latter, and he was right.

In another instance, Wilson said, a shot strayed far left of a fairway, landing on a grassy patch between the cart path and a fence, in such a position that taking a right-handed stance was impossible. Bennett insisted that the player could turn around and take a left-handed stance, and, because his feet would now be on the cart path, he would be entitled to relief. Not everyone in the judge’s group was buying it. But once again, the rule book bore him out.

Bennett is 57. Last fall, he competed in the Greater Houston Senior City Amateur, at Gus Wortham Park Golf Course, where he finished 47th, with rounds of 86 and 87. Though he’s not a bomber, he mostly keeps it straight, according to Ken Wise, another judge in the 14th Court of Appeals who has played multiple rounds with Bennett.

That trait carries over from the course to the courtroom.

“He’s the consummate professional,” Wise said. “He plays it right down the middle with his rulings.”

A 2021 Houston Bar Association poll affirms that view, with nearly 300 respondents awarding Bennett high marks for his preparedness and impartiality.

A judge known for his balance will now review a case involving one of golf’s more polarizing figures. The defamation suit filed on Reed’s behalf seeks damages in excess of $750 million, alleging that the Golf Channel and Chamblee have been “actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment.”

The complaint quotes remarks made by Chamblee that have been critical of Reed’s involvement with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, and cites a torrent of insults launched at Reed by spectators, including “Now on the first tee, the excavator!” and “Why don’t you dig a grave and bury yourself in it!” Both jabs are apparent references to an incident at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, where cameras captured Reed dislodging sand from behind his ball in a waste area. Chamblee was among those who decried Reed’s conduct, saying on Golf Channel that “to defend what Patrick Reed did is defending cheating.”

Reed’s attorney is Larry Klayman, who, like his client, has a colorful reputation. It stems from his history of filing headline-making suits against high-profile figures ranging from Bill and Hillary Clinton to the comic prankster Sacha Baron Cohen. A former colleague once described Klayman as the sort of person who would “sue you for criticizing his tie.”

In the golf press and on social media, the filing Klayman submitted has been mocked for its preponderance of typos. Among other glitches, it incorrectly uses “it’s” instead of “its” more than a dozen times, and, in a mention of Tiger Woods, renders a possessive as “Wood’s.”

Aside from amusing the Twittersphere, such sloppiness might also irritate a judge. But it has no bearing on the merits of the case.

What matters is the law. And in that regard, the challenge for the plaintiff is even steeper than the challenges of proper punctuation. For public figures to prove defamation, they must show that they have been the victim of “actual malice” — that the person they’re accusing has knowingly made false statements about them or acted with a “reckless disregard for the truth.”

It’s a stout legal standard, and with good reason, says Meredith J. Duncan, professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center.

“In this country, we enjoy a First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and defamation law errs on the side of protecting that right,” Duncan says. “There’s a high burden of proof, especially for public figures.”

Duncan declined to speculate on the likely outcome of the suit, and Klayman did not respond to a request for comment. But, Duncan noted, the vast majority of civil cases, “around 90 to 95 percent,” never even make it to court. They are either dismissed or settled.

Attorneys for Chamblee and Golf Channel have a right to file a motion for dismissal. They have yet to do so. But they almost surely will, and when that happens, Bennett could put a quick end to the drama and toss the complaint. Failing that, the case would move to the discovery phase, with each side presenting evidence in support of its claims. At that point, the defendants could file a request for a summary judgment, asking the judge to dismiss the suit based on all that he has seen.

Among the central questions Bennett will be asked to weigh is whether Reed’s side has shown that Chamblee knew Reed wasn’t a cheater but called him one anyway. There is also the question of whether calling someone a cheater — or casting them as a pawn of an oppressive regime — is a matter of opinion, which is not actionable as defamation.

These are long asks.

To borrow from golf lingo, Reed’s complaint is a far cry from a gimme, and it now comes before a judge who is not inclined to give them.

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The post Tour Confidential: PGA Tour shakeup, LIV contracts and lawsuits  appeared first on Golf.

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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss the Tiger Woods-led players-only meeting, LIV contract details and more. 

1. Both the Fire Pit Collective and Sports Illustrated reported Saturday some of the details of this week’s Tiger Woods-led players-only meeting that addressed LIV Golf’s threat to the PGA Tour. Among the reported items discussed were the creation of ‘a tour within a tour,’ where there would be 18 no-cut featuring 60 players playing for $20 million purses. Could this work? 

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Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Sure. The super-rich get richer. That pretty much always works. Is it good for fans? Doesn’t sound exciting to me. If you want to fend off the kind of threat the Tour faces, why make it an economic arms race you can’t win? How about differentiating the product? Golfweek on Sunday reported plans for Tiger-and-Rory-led one-day events in non-green-grass arenas. Details to be revealed soon, apparently. It already sounds awful to me, but even as I type that, I can hear the kids saying, ‘OK, boomer.’ On the plus side, at least it’s different. My preference? Roll back the ball for some events  and scrap the cookie-cutter bomb-and gouge courses in favor of more interesting designs. Make the players hit more creative shots. Enforce a shot clock. I know, it doesn’t involve trillion-dollar purses. But it would be more compelling than a lot of the same-old. And you might even turn a profit. Though I realize that several lifetimes of wealth isn’t enough for some. 

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): Sure, it could work, if the guys who are staying on the tour now aren’t jumping to LIV by 2024. But I also agree with Josh: Why basically copy LIV’s format (save for a three-round event). I’ll add to the suggestion of playing more alternate formats (but not the non-grass arena idea) like alternate shot or a team event with the LPGA. Players seem to love the Zurich Classic; why not have a mega-purse team event? All the limited-field stuff does is alienate the mid-level pro.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I’d argue that by stealing some of the things that LIV got right, the PGA Tour is adopting some overdue changes — part of what made it vulnerable in the first place. I have slightly mixed feelings about the no-cut aspect, because we’ve seen some relatively lifeless WGC events over the years. But the fact that we as golf fans would know when we should be watching would be extremely helpful. And because the Tour has built-in advantages — TV deals, decades of history, Tiger Woods, etc. — it wins most tiebreakers.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): It works for the players’ bottom line ($$$) and the Tour’s (survival), which, like it or not, is the goal. But I have questions. It would create a tournament tier, and go ahead and laugh about the fate of some events, but they mean a lot to those cities and fans. It also creates a player tier. Can others move up to the big events? Or are you stuck with those 60 players, who, obviously, can slide over time? Which leads to my biggest question, and one that Tiger himself has mentioned — if the cash is guaranteed across now an entire season, is that incentive still great to dig it out of the dirt? Let’s hope this doesn’t trickle into the majors.

2. A group of LIV golfers last week filed an antitrust suit against the Tour alleging that the Tour is unlawfully sanctioning them for signing on with the rival circuit, and this week, a handful of legal documents were unsealed, including player contracts. Having seen some of the details, what stood out to you?

Hirsh: For me, the limitations on media availability are the most shocking, considering Phil wanted the rights to his highlights. What he gains in that, he loses in freedom to communicate with the media. These players seemed like they wanted more freedom, but it’s fairly obvious that the price of the millions of dollars from LIV is their freedom to talk to the media. Also wasn’t that Bryson-Brooks feud staged to help them win the PIP? No more of that.

Sens: Agreed on the compromises on the media front. One clause that caught me was the prohibition against saying anything that might bring any person of note into ‘disrepute.’ How are we defining disrepute? What are the new boundaries of decorum? Will a lot of what used to be considered honest and acceptable talk become punishable? 

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Dethier: I was intrigued by the apparel talk! LIV guys are going to be wearing LIV gear like, all the time? At majors, even? It was interesting to read about LIV’s hold over players’ sponsorship decisions and displayed logos, which require approval for something as small as a coffee cup. These contracts are all different, so we don’t have a complete picture, but getting a little window into how LIV will exercise control was telling.

Piastowski: Dylan, why aren’t you wearing your GOLF shirts and hats? But yes, the apparel bit is great. As is this, which may cut into ‘family time.’ This is from Zephyr Melton’s story: “One of the stipulations indicates that players must ‘participate fully in up to 7 additional Service Days’ in 2022, with ‘12 additional Service Days in each following year.’ A Service Day is defined in the contract as ‘any day during which the Player is required to participate in and assist the League Operator and/or the Team Operator with meetings, negotiations and/or other activities with corporate sponsors or other business partners of the League.’”

3. In more court news, Patrick Reed has filed a defamation suit against Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel, alleging they “have conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, its executives and its Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed.” The lawsuit uses quotes from Chamblee from his time on the air for Golf Channel and Sky Sports as well as on podcasts to allege damages in excess of $750 million. What are your takeaways to Reed’s move?

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Sens: That pro golf is taking on a whiff of the Jerry Springer Show. Maybe the actual courts will see it differently, but in the court of public opinion, I think the verdict would be that any damage to Reed’s reputation has been largely self-inflicted. 

Hirsh: No matter what becomes of all the other suits, I just can’t ever see Patrick Reed playing on Tour again after this. Should he win, and most seem to agree the lawsuit has very little legal merit, would that then mean no media person could critique a player? That’s part of sports. Interesting he chose not to tee it up in this week’s International Series event in South Korea, which he committed to a few weeks back.

Dethier: I think it’s a sham and a shame. Brandel Chamblee is polarizing, sure, but he does a ton of homework, tries to get it right and generally does. Imagine an athlete in any other sport suing an analyst for offering takes on television. LeBron James might not care for Skip Bayless, but he would never sue the guy. I’m not sure how far this will end up going, but I’m sure there would be some interesting documents that would come through if we reached the discovery phase…

Piastowski: Fan reaction is part of the game. Reed shouldn’t expect to be cheered. He has to earn that. I’ll leave it at that. 

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4. The PGA Tour made a player-focused hire this week, bringing aboard Jason Gore as Senior Vice President, Player Advisor to the Commissioner, a role he similarly held with the USGA. There he was Managing Director, Player Relations, and Gore was widely appreciated by players. “I think about how contentious the relationship was between the players and the USGA, so much so that in 2013 there was massive talk of a player boycott at Merion, right. So for it to — it’s done a complete 180,” Rory McIlroy said. “It’s probably, I would say, if you polled players, I would say it’s probably one of the top two majors now in terms of how the players are treated and the feedback that they can give and Jason has been a massive part to do with that. And the team that sort of worked with Jason, too.” What’s your take on the hire?

Sens: A smart, experienced guy who has the respect of the players. Seems like a smart hire in every way. 

Hirsh: Hugely popular with the players, great move for the tour at a time when stability is not the best. Surprised it took this long. Let’s just hope it doesn’t negatively impact the U.S. Open.

Dethier: His impact on the USGA is tough to measure but undoubtedly significant; he got players back on board with the U.S. Open as an entity. This week’s meeting underscored that the top PGA Tour players are taking control of their Tour; Gore’s hiring will make communication between pros and executives that much stronger.

Piastowski: Smart. Hiring someone who can wear multiple hats is wise. 

5. Tom Weiskopf died Saturday at the age of 79, and he leaves behind a legacy as a major champion, course designer and announcer. How will you best remember him?

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Sens: The beautiful swing. The close calls in majors. I didn’t get to watch him in his prime, but I interviewed him many times in his later years. He was smart and funny and frank. He had a reputation for orneriness, but by the time I met him, he seemed to have softened. He came off as a bit wistful about some of those near-misses. But also content with where he stood. And a terrific designer — with a special knack for short par-4s 

Hirsh: Pardon my youth here, but I will remember Weiskopf most as the architect who brought us the venue for arguably the most electric atmosphere in golf, TPC Scottsdale. While he obviously didn’t erect the grandstands that would become the stadium hole, more people follow golf because of that event and it wouldn’t have been possible without Weiskopf.

Dethier: He loved golf. And he played the hell out of it, too. His run at the majors in the ‘70s — 18 top 10s, seven podiums and an Open Championship title — was incredibly impressive.

Piastowski: The swing. Fluid and effortless. And four Masters runners-up, which is damn impressive. And the lifetime in the game, from player to announcer to designer. So I guess a lot.

6. As the PGA Tour enters the final week of its regular season, we’ll spin things ahead. What will pro golf look like a year from now?

Hirsh: LIV is not done announcing signings; it just depends who those players are going to be. Several are going to be announced next Monday after the Tour Championship, and more could come after the Presidents Cup. I don’t think pro golf will look much different from where it is today because very little will be settled legally by the Tour Championship next year. What will look different is where players are playing. Now let’s look two years ahead, after the new PGA Tour schedule changes really kick in, and maybe we truly learn the results of the Tiger meeting from earlier this week. Maybe that means we see tour pros competing for millions at PopStroke!

Sens: The lower-wattage events should look pretty much the same. But If rumors about Cam Smith are true, the Players Championship will be without its defending champ. Tiger’s invitational will be without some past regulars. And depending on what position Fred Ridley and Co. wind up taking, their little invitational in Augusta could have different invitees. Will LIV events get OWGR points? What shifts will we see in Ryder Cup rosters? I guess my rule would be: The bigger the events, the more likelihood of significant change. Or at least change that the average fan will care about. 

Dethier: One year from now, the PGA Tour will be staring down its first season under a new scheme, one that involves a true schism between its Super Tour and its regular Tour. We’ll also be thinking about LIV’s relegation system and evaluating how it has gone in Year 1 of its streaming deal with established teams. Both tours will still exist. They’ll be firmly entrenched in the American Culture War. The online discourse will be plenty toxic. But it will remain intensely interesting!

Piastowski: All good thoughts! I worry about the majors. We want to see the best of the best. There’s a chance that might not happen, which would be incredibly sad. Now, as to where pro golf could be in 25 years … if I’m you, the golf parent, and I’m seeing all this money out there, I’m booking that lesson for junior yesterday. 

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Another explosive lawsuit has been filed in the world of men’s professional golf. This time, by Patrick Reed.

The nine-time Tour winner has filed a defamation suit in the Southern District of Texas against Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel, alleging they “have conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, its executives and its Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed.”

The lawsuit uses quotes from Chamblee from his time on the air for Golf Channel and Sky Sports as well as on podcasts to allege damages in excess of $750,000,000. This comes after 10 LIV Golf players — Reed not one of them — filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in Northern California. Last week, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones were denied their request for a temporary restraining order which would have seen them re-added to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

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Reed’s lawsuit is different for many reasons, but does invoke plenty of similar context around his associations with LIV Golf. The suit kicks off with a meaty, 159-word declaration, saying that Chamblee and Golf Channel have been … 

“misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard of the truth, that is with actual and constitutional malice, purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old, to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him, and with the intention to discredit his name and accomplishments as a young, elite, world-class golfer, and the good and caring person, husband and father of two children, he is. It is well-known on tour that Mr. Reed has been abused and endured more than any other golfer from fans or spectators who have been allowed to scream obscenities only to be glorified by NBC’s Golf Channel for doing so, because it gets Defendants Chamblee and Golf Channel “clicks”, viewership, ratings and increased revenue. For Defendants it does not matter how badly they destroy someone’s name and life, so long as they rake in more dollars and profit.”

Chamblee, who has been a Golf Channel commentator for more than a decade, has strongly opposed LIV Golf’s entrance into the golf ecosystem. Reed’s lawsuit taps into that steadfast belief and asserts that Chamblee and Golf Channel are in cahoots with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and “are defaming and smearing anyone associated with LIV—including Mr. Reed, one of it’s most prominent athletes—in order to try to maintain their monopolistic hold on professional golf and therefore continue to substantially profit, to the tune of an estimated $1.522 billion in revenue for the PGA Tour alone in 2022.”

The idea that the Tour is a monopoly is at the center of the aforementioned antitrust lawsuit being waged by Phil Mickelson and nine others. 

Reed’s complaint details how his reputation has been harmed, citing personal attacks at golf tournaments — many of which were spelled out in the lawsuit — which Reed asserts has hurt his performance and caused “emotional distress.” 

In addition to complaints about Chamblee’s comments on LIV Golf and Reed’s involvement with that entity, the lawsuit also addresses one of Reed’s most controversial moments: The 2021 Farmers Insurance Open. 

Reed won the event by five strokes, but not without earning the ire of many viewers, media and even players on the PGA Tour for how he handled a drop on the 10th hole during the third round. Reed took embedded ball relief along the left side of the green, which was reviewed by Tour officials on site and addressed on the CBS broadcast. 

It became the story of the week as the manner by which Reed proceeded to earn the relief, removing his ball from the embedded area to prove that his ball was once embedded. The process was questioned by many, but, as the lawsuit states, “the PGA Tour cleared Reed of any wrongdoing.”

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LIV golfers, Patrick Reed says, are “sick and tired” of hearing about money. 

And they can “hold their own” against PGA Tour players, he said. 

No, Reed was not shy ahead of his play at this week’s International Series Singapore event on the Asian Tour, then again, it’s not as if he would say the opposite, either. Still, his words were bold. 

To begin, we should note why Reed is playing overseas. It’s by choice, though the explanation is long-winded, and the sequence came in short order, starting in June. He signed on to play with the controversial, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series after playing in 14 Tour events this year. He resigned his Tour membership. He’s played in two LIV events. He was suspended by the Tour for doing so. He committed to both the Singapore event and next week’s International Series Korea tournament on the Asian Tour, which LIV Golf purchased a controlling stake in last year. LIV doesn’t receive world-ranking points, but the Asian Tour does, so it’s an avenue for Reed and potentially other LIV players.

Which brings us to earlier this week, and this short but notable comment from Reed on his state of affairs.   

“I’m ready for the LIV golfers to go ahead and play against guys on the PGA Tour,” Reed said. “I’m pretty sure we can hold our own. 

“To be honest with you, I’ve played on every tour — this will be my second Asian Tour event because the last Saudi event was an Asian Tour event, but I’ve played on DP World, I’ve played on PGA Tour, I’ve played one Korn Ferry Tour event, and I’ve played now two LIV golf events, and I can tell you this much: The guys that are out there, doesn’t matter what the dollar amount is — I think, to be honest with you, the players were kind of sick and tired of hearing about that.

“At the end of the day when you go out there, you’re playing more than just for yourself, that you’re part of a team, and we’re all motivated to win trophies. There’s a reason why these top players, all these great golfers are coming over, because they believe in the product, they know it’s the right thing.”

OK then. Starting from the top, PGA Tour v. LIV Golf on the golf course is but a fantasy game — after this week’s court case and the one in the future, it’s highly unlikely — so we’ll give you the facts and let you determine who would win. All 15 of the world’s top 15 play on the PGA Tour; 14 if you believe the rumors that world No. 2 Cameron Smith will soon join LIV. LIV’s highest player is No. 18 Dustin Johnson, and No. 23 Abraham Ancer, No. 25 Brooks Koepka, No. 28 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 32 Paul Casey, No. 33 Bryson DeChambeau and No. 34 Kevin Na also play with the upstarts. We’ll note that LIV player rankings are dipping due to a lack of play in events where points can be earned. 

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Motivation to join LIV is harder to quantify. Or maybe not. There are facts here, too, and you can make your own determinations. We’ve heard some of the rationale — a chance to grow the game, an opportunity to try something different, the ability to spend more time with family due to LIV’s shorter schedule, which Reed noted ahead of his first LIV event, though he’s now playing back-to-back weeks in Asia, and he said other LIV players will likely soon take up a similar schedule. And we’ve heard about the signing bonuses. And we’ve seen the payouts — everyone cashes in the no-cut events, winners earn $4 million. 

Still, Reed doubled-down on LIV being more than money. 

“I think it’s amazing,” The Straits Times reported Reed as saying at the event. “I think it’s innovative and it’s a new way of looking at golf. You look at all the old traditions in the game of golf, and they’re great. I mean obviously tradition is always great in every sport, but you have to evolve to keep up with the times.

“I’ll never forget the British Open. You can sit on the first tee and watch every single player. If you sat on the first tee and watch every single player take the first tee shot, you would be there from 6.35 a.m. to 4.15 p.m.

“There’s a reason why the average age of the consumer who watches golf is 65. I mean kids don’t have that attention span; I don’t even have that attention span to sit there that long. And so having a product like LIV — a game of 54 holes — means it’s more of a sprint.”

Speaking of the golf, Reed has shot rounds of 73, 68 and 72 this week in Singapore, and he enters the final round 11 shots back of leader Phachara Khongwatmai. 

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With no LIV Golf events on the schedule for the month of August and his pending suspension from the PGA Tour withholding him from the FedEx Cup playoffs, Patrick Reed is taking his talents to Asia.

The Asian Tour announced Reed will play in two events this month: the International Series Singapore, from August 11-14, and International Series Korea the following week.

Reed finished fifth individually this past weekend at the LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster after winning the league’s second event in Portland.

Playing on the Asian Tour, which LIV Golf purchased a controlling stake in last year, could be an avenue for Reed and many other LIV defectors to something the upstart league currently can’t offer: Official World Golf Ranking points.

The former Masters champ has fallen to 46th in the world after starting the year at No. 25. After the Open Championship last month, OWGR guru @nosferatu projected Reed would fall out of the top 100 by the end of the year if he did not play in any more OWGR events.

In golf, the Official World Golf Ranking is the mechanism by which most players earn their spot into the major championships. The ranking does not currently recognize LIV Golf as a sanctioned event, meaning players who compete for the rival league will either be forced to earn their way into the majors by some other means (open qualifying) or sit the majors out altogether.

LIV has applied for world ranking points, but is still awaiting a decision from the OWGR. The Asian Tour, which has been sanctioned by the OWGR, already offers them.

Playing back-to-back events should be notable for Reed, as he said in his first LIV press conference at his debut in Portland one of the reasons he was joining the Saudi-backed league was to play less golf.

“You’re not having to conserve energy ever. You’re out there that one week, you’re putting everything into it,” Reed said in June. “I’m able to play harder every single week rather than sit there going I got five weeks coming up in a row or I got four in a row and then you’re leading into a major or World Golf championship.”

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Mike Lorenzo-Vera has blasted the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Now he’s going after one of its bigger names. 

Over two tweets and an Instagram post this week, the longtime DP World Tour pro ripped Patrick Reed over a bunker incident at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, the comments coming just under two months since Lorenzo-Vera questioned why players would play for the controversial, Saudi-backed LIV series. Reed’s account responded by blocking the Frenchman.

The back and forth began Tuesday, when Reed tweeted a discount code for this week’s second-ever LIV event, in Portland. That tweet drew this response from Lorenzo-Vera:

“Does this code works if I want to buy a shovel ??? @PReedGolf ???”

The dig was a clear reference to Reed’s Hero incident, where he twice brushed sand from behind his ball on practice swings before eventually being penalized. About three hours after his tweet, Lorenzo-Vera shared that Reed’s account had blocked him. 

“Well… that was fast… Bye Bye Cheat !!!” he wrote. 

Lorenzo-Vera wasn’t finished. Two days later, he shared over his Instagram stories a graphic that this week’s LIV broadcast had been using to showcase players’ skill levels, only this graphic had been edited to add “cheating.”

“@preedgolf has strong stats!!!” wrote Lorenzo-Vera, who is also playing the Irish Open this week. 

All of this comes after the pro shared thoughts on the Saudi-backed series in May. Then he wrote, “WTF is going on in some players head ???? Not enough [money emoji] on the @PGATOUR ??? Not well organized ? Bad schedule ? Bad courses ? Bad crowed [sp]? Before the LIV , looks like they were happy ! UNGRATEFULNESS !!!! That’s the only word that comes to my mind. #education”

That tweet, along with his responses to comments, appeared to be in response to an incident involving Sergio Garcia at the Wells Fargo Championship. There, during the first round, Garcia was told by an official that he had found a lost ball after the allotted three minutes, to which the Spaniard responded: “I can’t wait to leave this Tour. I can’t wait to get out of here, my friend.” And Garcia kept his word, joining the upstart series. 

Lorenzo-Vera has won over $5.5 million on the formerly named European Tour, and notably, he was tied for second at the halfway point of the 2020 PGA Championship. His comments toward the Saudi league were also not his first, as he shared a 3-minute and 40-second video on Instagram in February, where he suggested that those playing in the league donate their money to charity.

“Hello, everybody. I’m doing this video because there is something that I don’t really like of what’s going on now with the Saudi league, and I would like to speak my voice on my social network,” he said in the video. “So I speak in English because hopefully this message goes a bit beyond the borders of France. I’m going to explain to you what has been going on through my mind the last week. I’ve been speaking with my agent about the Saudi league, and it was kind of like, well, imagine, man, if I play better and I can access to that league, it’s a huge amount of money that you can win. And it’s like a lottery ticket for the family, and that’s fantastic and stuff, OK. 

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“And during the week after that, it’s crazy. I was at the players lounge at during the tournament and the BBC was on, on TV, and there was a documentary about what’s going on in Yemen. And I’ve seen the kids, plenty of kids dying of lack of food and so skinny and so sad and I mean … This is just insane, the situation there. And I am no journalist, war journalist. I don’t understand everything, but the thing that I could understand about that commentary is that Saudi’s involved and … Feels strange to look at this. So maybe I don’t understand everything but as we say in France, there is no smoke without fire. 

“And I would like to speak to the guys that signed for the league and that message. Maybe you could use that money, not all of it, but a good amount of that money, to give to charity for the kids in Yemen to bring some food to them. That would be pretty interesting. And at least I would do it. That is for sure. And I know I’m not in the situation and it can sound maybe jealous or whatever, but I think that sometime we need to come back to earth a bit. 

“And I’ve seen the comments of Andrew Coltart and I think that he’s just 100 percent right — sometime we lose the reality and I’ve done the same sometimes; look, I’ve played twice in Saudi. And the more the time passes and the more I feel uncomfortable with it and we just need to not forget where we come from sometimes. Like the European Tour, the PGA Tour have been here for us and we can thank them. I think that to go away from them just for money, it feels a bit strange. And that money feels even more strange.”

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NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Patrick Reed is eager to play less tournament golf.

For years, Reed has been among the PGA Tour’s grinders, logging roughly 30 events across the globe each calendar year. He has prided himself as a global golfer, regularly trekking to the European Tour and playing tournaments that other high-profile pros would skip. But on Tuesday, in his first appearance as a member of the LIV Tour, he made it clear he’s ready to simplify that schedule — and he isn’t in a hurry to get back to the PGA Tour.

In a 30-minute session in which he took questions alongside fellow debutants Pat Perez and Brooks Koepka, Reed emphasized that LIV’s new schedule will allow him to spend more time with his family. He also announced that he has resigned his PGA Tour membership and ripped leadership in Ponte Vedra for not listening to player requests over the years.

“Being the guy who’s played 30 to 35 events my entire career and basically living through Facetime watching my kids grow up, I wanted to spend more time with my children,” Reed said. “I wanted to be a dad.”

Reed is one of several LIV commits who have resigned their PGA Tour membership in an effort to avoid disciplinary action, though others — including Koepka and Perez — have not done so. All LIV contestants are indefinitely suspended from PGA Tour events, but Reed seemed unbothered by the ban, offering some choice words for his longtime workplace on his way out.

“Now all of a sudden [purses] went skyrocketing back up on the PGA Tour, it just shows that they obviously believe that [LIV] is not only a true threat, but a great tour as well if they’re going and copying what we’re doing,” Reed said. He was referring to the PGA Tour’s announcement about adding $54 million in purse size to its premier events, an answer to LIV’s big-time money.

It’s not clear that tweak would have done much to keep Reed anyway, given LIV’s limited schedule and sums of money. That’s a common query around LIV golfers — is there anything the Tour could have done to retain their talents?

“Listen to the players,” Reed said.

He left it at that, but was later prompted to expand on what that meant. It’s worth taking his answer with a grain of salt — he, like his fellow LIVers, are being paid enormous sums of guaranteed money to be there — but Reed’s gripes about the PGA Tour are relatively common among Tour pros and LIV defectors alike.

“Basically everything that [LIV] has done so far,” he said. “We have a smaller schedule. We actually have an offseason where not only can we get healthy, work on our bodies, but we’re basically allowing ourselves throughout the year to try to peak at the right times, when you’re playing, rather than feeling like you have to play every single week.”

Reed talked about the challenge of playing four or five tournaments in a row and then using his week off in between tournaments to get ready for those that came next. It’s a tale as old as the Tour — spending weeks away from home, trying to stay healthy and sharp while finding time for life off the course, too. It’s no wonder that pros crave a break from the carousel.

As it turns out, LIV’s money can solve that problem, too. Reed acknowledged that the reason he’s happy playing fewer events is because of guaranteed contracts and higher purses. That’s easy to understand; most employees are seeking higher pay for less work. And Reed said he played so much on the PGA Tour in part because he felt like he’d fall behind in the FedEx Cup standings if he took significant time off.

“You do that every single year and no wonder why guys are injured in their 30s and why guys are mentally tired and you just see the grind on them because they’re having to grind every single week,” he said.

Reed declined to answer any of the media’s thornier questions about the league’s Saudi funding, deferring to Koepka and Perez. Instead he stayed on message — that this was the best future for his family. What remains up in the air is whether Reed’s LIV commitment will affect his participation in the two events for which he’s best-known: The Masters and the Ryder Cup.

“But when it comes to the majors, we don’t really know where they all stand, obviously,” Reed said. “And being a past champion at Augusta and having a green jacket, I would think I’d be able to play there for the rest of my life. But I mean, at the end of the day, that’s going to be up to them.”

As for the Ryder Cup?

“You know, of course, I’ve thought about it. Who wouldn’t?” he said.

But the possibility of a ban wasn’t enough to dissuade him from participating.

“At the end of the day I felt like when my family and I we sat down and we just weighed all of our options, we felt like joining LIV Golf, especially with talking to some of the guys that played in London, that this was definitely the right decision.”

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The inaugural LIV Golf event is set to begin in London on Thursday, and player announcements and the ensuing controversies have been sucking up all the air in the golf world this week. Now two more big names are reportedly taking their talents to the Saudi-funded, Greg Norman-led golf league: Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.

According to a report by James Corrigan in The Telegraph, DeChambeau and Reed “will be announced imminently as the latest big-name players to sign up with the Saudi rebel circuit.”

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DeChambeau’s agent confirmed Bryson’s involvement in a text to GOLF, writing, “Bryson has always been an innovator. Having the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something unique has always been intriguing to him. Professional golf as we know it is changing and it’s happening quickly.”

Despite monthslong rumors linking his name to the upstart LIV series, DeChambeau denied his participation in LIV just five days ago at the Memorial Tournament.

“Me, there’s obviously a lot of conversation,” DeChambeau said. “For me, I personally don’t think that at this point in time I’m in a place in my career where I can risk things like that.”

What changed for Bryson in those few short days remains to be seen. His agent declined to provide any further comment.

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The news comes on the heels of Phil Mickelson’s own announcement that he would play the LIV Golf event in London, and Dustin Johnson doing the same while also officially resigning from the PGA Tour, as Kevin Na did last week.

Mickelson faced reporters’ questions on Wednesday for the first time since leaving the public eye following his controversial comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian financial backers of LIV Golf. You can read all about the tense, awkward press conference here.

The field for this week’s London LIV event is set, so DeChambeau and Reed won’t be teeing it up right away. The next LIV Golf event — and the first in the United States — is scheduled for June 30 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Ore.

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