PGA Tour Players React To ‘Tee-Gate’ Between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed

Social media went ablaze as the Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed drama intensified. On Wednesday, both players spoke out regarding their driving range interaction in Dubai—which fans are now calling “Tee-Gate”—even prompting PGA Tour players to weigh in on the situation.

The gist of the drama is as follows: McIlroy, a PGA Tour loyalist, ignored Reed, a LIV Golf member, when he tried to approach him on the practice range. Reed, upset at McIlroy for disregarding his attempt to say hello, then tossed a golf tee in McIlroy’s direction.

McIlroy explained to reporters that he “didn’t feel the need to acknowledge” Reed, because Reed’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, served McIlroy a subpoena on Christmas Eve.

Reed claimed the interaction was playful, and clarified that the subpoena had “nothing to do with [him]—the lawsuit in question is between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Nonetheless, the former Masters champion called McIlroy an “immature little child,” for his actions on the range. 

Reactions to the incident were all over social media on Wednesday, but PGA Tour players themselves provided the most entertaining commentary. 

Justin Thomas led the way, commenting on Golf Digest’s Instagram post: “Hope Rory and Pat gonna be ok to play after this terrible dangerous incident...what a tragedy!!”

Max Homa—an active participant in the golf Twitter space—jumped in as well. 

Beneath Homa’s tweet, Collin Morikawa responded with another clever remark about “Tee-Gate.”

While Homa and Morikawa’s back-and-forth created the most buzz, there were plenty more reactions about the incident from professional golfers.