Patrick Reed Calls Rory McIlroy An 'Immature Child' As Back-And-Forth Continues Ahead Of Dubai Golf Event

The stirred-up drama between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed ahead of this week's Dubai Desert Classic is apparently the gift that keeps on giving.

The back-and-forth between McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the world, and Reed, who joined LIV Golf last year, began on Tuesday when McIlroy ignored Reed when he approached him on the range.

It was reported that Reed threw a tee at McIlroy in frustration, but as you can see in the video below, it was simply a playful toss, and far from aggressive.

McIlroy was asked about the situation on Wednesday and confirmed that he purposefully ignored Reed while taking a dig at the American.

“I was down by my bag and he came up to me, and I was busy working and sort of doing my practice, and I didn’t really feel like… I didn’t feel the need to acknowledge him,” said McIlroy.  "If roles were reversed and I’d have thrown that tee at him, I’d be expecting a lawsuit.”

McIlroy's comment about the lawsuit was in reaction to being subpoenaed on Christmas Eve by a lawyer representing Reed.

“I’m living in reality, I don’t know where he’s living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake," McIlroy said.

Patrick Reed Fires Back At Rory McIlroy

Like McIlroy, Reed isn't one to sugarcoat things when speaking with the media and he certainly isn't one to simply let things go. He went on to share his side of the story and explained that the whole situation is being blown out of proportion.

Reed couldn't resist taking his own jab at McIlroy, however, as he went on to call him an "immature child."

"Harry (McIlroy's caddie) shook my hand and Rory just looked down there and was messing with his Trackman and kind of decided to ignore us. We all know where it came from, being part of LIV. Since my tees are Team Aces LIV tees I flicked him one. It was kind of a funny shot back. Funny how a small little flick has turned into basically me stabbing him and throwing a tee at him," Reed told the Daily Mail.

"He saw me and he decided to not react. But it is one of those things. If you're going to act like an immature little child then you might as well be treated like one."

McIlroy and Reed unfortunately aren't paired together for the first two rounds of the Dubai Desert Classic this week, but hopefully the golf gods gift us with a pairing over the weekend.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris