Dubai Desert Classic: Following his involvement in a contentious rules incident during the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic when his ball went missing atop a palm tree, Patrick Reed has retaliated.
The LIV Golf member and rules officials used binoculars to try to identify Reed’s ball from the markings he uses on his ball on the driveable par-four 17th, which was the penultimate hole of the day.
Although TV replays seemed to indicate the tee shot was finished in a different tree than the one Reed believed his ball was in, the American claimed to be “100% certain” that the ball identified was his, allowing him to take a penalty drop close to the base of the tree rather than having to return to the tee.
It took a lot of discussion over the decision before Reed eventually salvaged a par before recovering with a birdie on the last hole to put him back in contention for the victory going into the final day. The DP World Tour then issued a statement to clarify the situation.
Rory McIlroy shot a 68 to defeat Reed by one stroke and win the tournament, but the American has now issued a message on social media to address the “non-issue” and says it’s time to resume playing golf.
Some people enjoy controversy, according to Reed.
This is my statement regarding Dubai Desert Classic! Maybe it’s time we get back to playing some golf! Best wishes. pic.twitter.com/sTUHOHzkPF
— Patrick Reed (@PReedGolf) January 31, 2023
“But the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s 17th hole incident was unimportant.
“I was requested to describe the unique marks on the ball I was playing, not the tree my ball impacted, as the DP World Tour stated (that was done by ShotLink volunteers and a few marshals).
“The Asian Tour’s main event, which will take place at Royal Greens this week, excites me.”
McIlroy has also supported Reed in relation to the incident, claiming that Reed wasn’t trying to gain an advantage and that the event was being treated unfairly because of previous legal disputes.
McIlroy remarked, “I thought it was fine. If it had been someone else in the industry, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but because of some prior events, people bring up things, which is perhaps unjust in some respects.”
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