AUGUSTA, Ga. — Patrick Reed is slowly starting to build out his new on-course look, after he found himself as one of several golf apparel free agents following his exit from LIV Golf in January.
“It’s been fun for me,” Reed said Monday when asked by Front Office Sports about his new deals and ongoing apparel partner search.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, for the first time since his LIV exit won’t be logo-less this week. He recently signed deals with private aviation company VistaJet and estate/financial planning firm Oath, whose logos he will be wearing on his hat and shirt, respectively, during the Masters.
“Going back and trying to find sponsors and doing all that again was definitely a lot harder to figure out,” Reed said. “I just go out and play golf, but for my team and everybody, they’ve been having to [work the] phones and all that.”
Reed was wearing an Under Armour shirt Monday, but he does not have an official deal with the sportswear brand, a company spokesperson told FOS.
Under Armour signed an apparel deal this year with Reed’s former LIV team, the 4Aces, whose uniform Reed was wearing when he won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, just days before he announced his exit from LIV. He’s continued to wear various Under Armour shirts and shoes while playing on the DP World Tour.
“I’ve really enjoyed wearing the Under Armour stuff, especially putting it on for the first time and going and getting a win and then winning the second of three,” Reed said.
Typically, apparel companies plan out exactly what their players will wear months in advance, so without a traditional clothing deal, Reed is still learning the ropes. “The biggest thing is now trying to figure out what I’m going to wear each and every day because normally everything’s scripted,” he said.
Reflecting on Leaving LIV
Reed said he’s excited to return to the PGA Tour, which he will be eligible to do this fall.
“The best players in the world and the deepest fields from top to bottom are on the PGA Tour,” he said. “I’ve played now every tour. I’ve played on every single one of them.”
Reed, whose LIV contract expired after the 2025 season, said he had an offer to return to the league, but one reason he chose to leave was to “get back to the traditional way of golf and playing.”
LIV until this season played 54-hole tournaments, compared to typical 72-hole events. The league still has smaller fields (57 players), not a halfway cut, and uses a shotgun start format where all players begin their rounds at the same time on different holes, as opposed to all players going off the first tee.
“I knew this would be a perfect time for me since I didn’t have a contract signed with LIV at the time,” Reed said. “So I knew it would be kind of an easier transition.”
