LIV Golf star takes swipe at Patrick Reed over issue which landed him with PGA Tour fine

Harold Varner III has taken a cheeky pop at team-mate Patrick Reed over his perceived slow play.

Reed has received backlash at various points in his career for taking too long over shots. And the former champion was handed an undisclosed fine by the prior to his LIV Golf switch in 2022.

Varner, who competes alongside Reed, Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez for 4Aces GC, took his opportunity to poke fun at the 34-year-old by uploading a to his social media channels.

"Tag a friend that takes forever, I'll start @PReedGolf," Varner wrote, alongside a video in which he said: "Golf tip of the week. This one is for Patrick Reed. Be ready to hit. Don't take forever."

While Varner's jab was light-hearted, Reed's alleged slow play has sparked genuine anger from rivals in the past. At the Masters last year, English golfer Tyrrell Hatton was spitting feathers after being stuck behind Reed, Sungjae Im and Kurt Kitayama.

"The lads in front have been so slow," he said after the second round. "It's pretty poor from the officials that it took 32 holes to put them on the clock.

"Yesterday they lost a hole and a half, they weren't any better even this morning and then for the second round they were just brutal.

"[It was] fine for them; they're not waiting on any shot that they hit. But for us, we stood in the fairway, we stood on the tee. It was really hard to get a rhythm, so it was disappointing that it took 32 holes for an official to go: 'Oh, we've put the group in front on the clock.'"

Reed is still banned from the PGA Tour due to his LIV Golf connections, but he is still free to compete in DP World Tour events. And the Texas-born major champion turned out at the Spanish Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship following the end of the Saudi-backed breakaway league's season.

"I have always loved coming over, playing on the European Tour and showing my support," last year. "I took pride in being the one American who always came over consistently. Hopefully, everything will work out and I can get back to doing that."