Rory McIlroy has been called an "immature little child" by Patrick Reed.

McIlroy confirmed he purposely ignored Reed at a practice session ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic.

Reed, one of the high-profile players who left the PGA Tour to sign up for the LIV Golf Invitational last year, was alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy, who claimed not to have noticed.

The American, who McIlroy said had served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, has denied there was any malicious intent behind that move, as he hit out at the world number one's behaviour.

Reed told reporters: "One of my attorneys filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour based off the fans' perspective.

"Supposedly, he subpoenaed Tiger [Woods] and Rory. You know, the media sits there and acts as if I'm the one that is subpoenaing these guys and, honestly, that's far from the truth – it has nothing to do with me and nothing to do with any of the lawsuits that I'm a part of.

"It was good to see [Rory] again this week, that he's over here supporting [the DP World Tour] again, 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."

Reed, who won the Masters in 2018, explained what happened when he went to greet McIlroy.

"[McIlroy's caddie] Harry [Diamond] shook my hand and Rory was messing with his TrackMan [golf app], and he just looked up and kind of decided to ignore us.

"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 basically turned into me stabbing him."

McIlroy said the incident was a "storm in a teacup", but also said: "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."

Reed is now hoping to go head-to-head with McIlroy out on the course.

"That would be great, but I will tell you this much – there won't be much talking," Reed said.

"Even if I said hello on the first, he won't say anything. I can be as much a gentleman as I can be, [it's] his choice if he doesn't respond."