LIV Golf rebel Patrick Reed has pulled out of this week's DP World Tour event at St Andrews after suffering a strange injury incurred in his hotel room last week.
The 32-year-old claims the mattress on his Mersailles hotel bed was "too soft" causing pain in his back. Reed's discomfort was apparent on the golf course at the Cazoo French Open missing the halfway cut after rounds of 73 and 72 to finish on three over par.
He has withdrawn from the Alfred Dunhill Links which starts on Thursday. A good field is set to compete on the Old Course including Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry amongst others, but Reed will not be in attendance.
Speaking to Irish Golfer, he said: “The mattress was just too soft for me. I played well in the pro-am but the pain in my back was getting worse. It’s disappointing as I was looking forward to coming back to France after being there for the Ryder Cup.”
The 2018 Masters champion joined LIV Golf in June for a reported fee of around £50million. One of the reasons Reed gave for joining the Saudi-backed tour was so he could spend more time with his children.
However, the American has had a busy September also playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and LIV Golf events in Boston and Chicago. The DP World Tour is still allowing LIV Golf competitors to compete until an impending court case is concluded.
Reed who is an honorary lifetime DP World Tour member was looking forward to returning to St Andrews. He added: “I first played the Dunhill Links back in 2011. It was my first European Tour event, so that’s another event I was looking forward to playing.”
