Patrick Reed takes aim at more golf journalists in multi-million dollar lawsuit

Reed is already suing Golf Channel and its commentators Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack and Shane Bacon, as well as Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch and its parent company, Gannett.

The civil suit was first filed in a Texas court back in August, and alleges that the defendants have been defaming Reed "since he was 23 years old".

Reed's initial allegations include "misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard of the truth, that is with actual and constitutional malice, purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting [Reed] to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him".

Now, Reed has filed a new $250 million suit against a number of other prominent golf media members and organizations, including author Shane Ryan, the Hachette Book Group, the New York Post and Fox Sports, as well as the Associated Press and golf writer Doug Ferguson.

Two books written by Ryan are cited in the release: 'Slaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour', and 'The Cup They Couldn't Lose: America, The Ryder Cup, and The Long Road to Whistling Straits'.

A release from Reed's attorney, Larry Klayman, reads as follows:

"One of the earliest and perhaps the most hateful and unhinged of the defendants to defame, falsely injure and tortiously interfere with Mr. Reed, his family, and his colleagues is Shane Ryan, who wrote a book, 'Slaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour,' and in his newly released book, 'The Cup They Couldn't Lose: America, The Ryder Cup, and The Long Road to Whistling Straits', compounds and republishes the alleged false and very damaging attacks."

In the initial lawsuit, filed in August, Klayman said Reed was hitting back after being used as a "whipping boy" by the various writers and publications, which also prompted his switch to LIV Golf.

"My client, his family and colleagues have been made the whipping boy of cheap and dishonest journalists in the golf media, like Shane Ryan, who feed at the trough of the PGA Tour, a tour that historically mistreated Mr. Reed. Indeed, my client's move to LIV Golf was primarily due to this mistreatment, where adequate security was not even provided at PGA Tour events, where hostile fans vilified and threatened Mr. Reed, his wife, caddie, and coach, thanks to the rank defamation and other alleged illegal acts of Defendants in these two recently filed lawsuits," Klayman said in the release.

"Mr. Reed, on behalf of himself, his family, and colleagues, simply will not take it anymore and he is fighting back in the courts to not just redeem his rightful reputation for honesty and superior golf achievements and successes, but also to protect his loved ones from the likes of Shane Ryan, Doug Ferguson and the rest of the jackals who make their sorry and pathetic living spreading lies and false information about him. These types of journalists, publishers and networks give the good ones a bad name, by publishing and broadcasting false information to the masses for their own financial gain to generate readers, viewership, clicks, and for no other reason than to use Mr. Reed callously and cruelly as a tool to make money, no matter how harmful it has been or will be to his career, his family, colleagues and his life."

Reed has been at the center of several controversies during his golfing career, dating back to his days in college golf at UGA and Augusta State, and has developed a less-than-stellar reputation on and off the golf course as a result.