Rory McIlroy Admits Lawsuits Are Gone as Patrick Reed Feud Finally Softens in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed once spent Christmas Eve trading subpoenas.

In 2023, Reed flicked a tee at McIlroy in a parking lot after a heated exchange.

They sued each other.

They insulted each other.

They became the most toxic pairing in modern golf.

Now, in November 2026, they are walking the same fairway again — and the lawsuits are gone.

McIlroy admitted it himself ahead of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the first leg of the DP World Tour Play-Offs.

“There’s no lawsuits anymore, so that helps,” McIlroy said with a laugh.

He added: “I think the way Patrick has conducted himself this year, but also just how this is the route that he's taken, and he's put his head down, and he's played the golf, and he's let his clubs do the talking.”

That is not the Rory McIlroy who spent 2023 calling Reed a liar and a cheat.

That is not the Rory McIlroy who threatened to walk away from the PGA Tour over LIV Golf defectors.

Something changed.

Reed felt it too.

“Really excited to be in this position to come out here and kind of just put my head down and play full time on the DP World Tour and have an opportunity for an American to win the Race would be something that is obviously a goal and a dream,” Reed said.

He was asked about playing in the same group as McIlroy.

“It's been a while since I've been in the same group as Rory,” Reed said.

“It's going to be fun. I've gotten the pleasure of playing with Eugenio earlier this year. It's going to be a fun group to go out tomorrow and feed off each other and play some good golf.”

The third man in the group is Eugenio Chacarra, the former LIV Golf star who now leads the Race to Dubai standings.

McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, matching Colin Montgomerie’s mark.

Reed is chasing something else: a return to the PGA Tour.

At the start of the 2026 season, Reed left LIV Golf after three seasons.

He had earned $16 million over 34 starts on the Saudi-backed circuit.

But he wanted back on the PGA Tour.

So he did what McIlroy had publicly challenged all LIV players to do: he went back to the traditional route, grinding on the DP World Tour, earning points, and trying to qualify the hard way.

Chacarra did the same after his LIV contract was not renewed at the end of 2024.

“I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes,” Chacarra told Flushing It after he left LIV.

“How you get major access and ranking points. On LIV, nothing changes; there is only money. It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money. I’m not a guy who wants more money. What will change my life is playing in Hawaii and qualifying for the majors, qualifying for the Masters, the Ryder Cup.”

McIlroy noticed.

“I think you look at Eugenio and Patrick as former LIV players but coming back and going through the process of trying to build their way back through the game and through this tour, and ultimately both of them are going to get a PGA Tour card again next year,” McIlroy said.

“I have a lot of respect for them with the way that they have done.”

That respect is new.

For years, McIlroy was the most vocal critic of LIV Golf and anyone who joined it.

He called the league a money grab.

He said players who left were “taking the easy way out.”

Reed was one of the first big names to sign with LIV in 2022, reportedly for a signing bonus north of $50 million.

The feud escalated quickly.

In 2023, during a practice round at the Dubai Desert Classic, Reed threw a tee at McIlroy after an argument.

Video of the incident went viral.

Reed later claimed McIlroy had called him a “cheat” — a reference to Reed’s 2019 penalty for moving sand in a bunker at the Hero World Challenge.

McIlroy denied it. Reed’s lawyer sent a letter demanding an apology.

By Christmas Eve 2023, the two were exchanging subpoenas.

McIlroy’s lawyers filed a defamation suit. Reed countersued.

The legal battle dragged into 2024.

Then, quietly, both sides dropped the lawsuits.

Neither player has explained exactly why the cases were dismissed.

But the result is clear: the legal war is over.

Now, in Abu Dhabi, the two are playing together for the first time since the tee-flicking incident.

The tournament carries a €7.9 million purse — roughly $8.5 million.

It is the first of two events in the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with next week’s finale in Dubai.

There are other tensions in Abu Dhabi beyond the McIlroy-Reed pairing.

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a “non-essential travel” warning for the UAE, citing regional unrest.

Shane Lowry is among the players who decided not to compete because of security concerns.

Britain’s Foreign Office lifted its previous “do not travel” advisory earlier this year, but its latest update warns: “The context in the Middle East remains deeply unpredictable, and the risk of sudden escalation is high.”

McIlroy was asked about the safety concerns.

“Obviously the DP World Tour are talking to the local authorities all the time,” he said.

“If everyone deems that it’s safe to be here, then who am I to say otherwise?”

He added: “Don’t think I would ever feel unsafe.”

But the main story in Abu Dhabi is not the security warning.

It is the sight of McIlroy and Reed sharing a fairway without lawyers in the room.

For fans who followed the feud, the change is almost jarring.