I Know He's Divisive, But I've Gained More Respect For Patrick Reed In 2025...

On paper, it seems that professional golfers have the dream life... Not only do they get to travel the world and play the best courses in the best conditions, but they also get paid to do so!

However, the stress and time away from family can be a difficult one, especially when a worldwide schedule requires you to fly from time zone to time zone, all around the globe.

As we've seen throughout golf's history, there are hundreds of tournaments cropping up in every corner of the world, as well as numerous events appearing on the various Tours available.

For me though, one particular player has represented the global game, tournament-wise, more than anyone this year...

He may not be everyone's favorite, but you can't deny that Patrick Reed has done his fair share for global golf, especially in 2025, which is why I think he deserves a bit more respect.

A member of the LIV Golf League, the 2018 Masters winner has also ventured out to the Asian Tour and DP World Tour once again this year, with the Texan not just competing in the blue chip tournaments of those circuits, but also the more 'standard' events.

Away from the Rolex Series of the DP World Tour, in which he has played at the Dubai Desert Classic and BMW PGA Championship, Reed has also entered tournaments like the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, Bahrain Championship, BMW International Open and Open de Espana.

It's a similar story on the Asian Tour, where the 35-year-old is one of the more notable names from the LIV Golf League that you'll find in the fields regularly, making appearances in Macau, Philippines and Hong Kong.

Featuring in 14 LIV Golf League events for 2025, Reed, who is an honorary lifetime member of the DP World Tour, has currently played 10 tournaments on the circuit this year, as well as three Asian Tour events.

Certainly, I'm not disputing that there are players who haven't earned their due this year. For example, in 2025 alone, Ben Griffin has played 30 PGA Tour events, while some players on the DP World Tour have travelled from country to country to play a similar amount of times.

What I'm saying is that there are only a handful of players who have the accolades that Reed has who are still competing with a global schedule in 2025 and, despite their history, the most notable, apart from the American, is Rory McIlroy.

I won't mention their past, as this is purely from a golf perspective, but both Major winners have featured in tournaments worldwide this season and have made their efforts to represent golf on the global scale.

Again, I'm not implying other players haven't but, in my opinion, these are the two highest-profile players in the game right now who are representing the sport worldwide in terms of tournaments.

Outside of LIV Golf, Reed continues to play on both the DP World Tour and Asian Tour, while outside the PGA Tour, McIlroy has been present in India, Ireland, the Middle East and, in December, Australia.

In fact, McIlroy has even claimed that he plans on playing a more global, yet slightly lighter, schedule going forward, despite the fact that, in 2024, he played a total of 27 events, his highest since 2010.

Over the last few years, the emphasis has been on playing the PGA Tour and, specifically, competing in the USA, as seen with the handing out of 10 PGA Tour cards from the DP World Tour.

For me, I've previously stated how national opens should be given more priority and, for me, I'm glad to still see the likes of Reed and McIlroy compete worldwide and not limit their schedules to just American events.

If golf is to continue getting bigger and bigger, you need these caliber of players in worldwide tournaments, which is why I think more respect should be given to those who aren't afraid to venture out afar to represent the sport we all love.

Patrick Reed's 2025 Events