Reed and another of the LIV rebels Phil Mickelson – seen as the figurehead of the breakout series – were met with mixed reception when they started.
Mickelson gave his thumbs up after a polite round of applause followed by cries of ‘Let’s go Phil’, but there was a less warm welcome for Reed, who was something of a divisive figure in the sport even before his departure.
The crowd seemed more forgiving of Poulter, traditionally one of the more popular players at The Open, further down the lane, with some fans shouting ‘Morning’ and ‘Let’s go Poults’ as he reached the third tee.
On the eve of the tournament, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers insisted banning LIV Golf rebels from next year’s Open “isn’t on the agenda,” but he doesn’t rule out changing the championship eligibility criteria.
In a surprisingly forceful statement before answering questions in his traditional pre-tournament press conference, Slumbers said the Saudi-funded breakout was “completely driven by money” and not in the “best long-term interest of the game”.
The PGA Tour has suspended members who took part in the breakout without authorization, while the DP World Tour has fined players £100,000 and banned them from last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, but saw that temporarily pending appeal.
The R&A announced last month that LIV players exempted from the Open would be allowed to compete at St Andrews, following the USGA’s stance on the US Open.
But USGA chief executive Mike Whan admitted he could foresee that it would become more difficult for LIV players to qualify in the future, a view shared by Slumbers.