Patrick Reed leads Race to Dubai after earning PGA Tour return on merit
Patrick Reed decided not to renew his contract with LIV Golf and started the long road back to the PGA Tour, according to www.tsn.ca. One thing he was sure of from the beginning: he wanted to let his "clubs do the talking" and earn his way back instead of having a spot given to him.
"The biggest thing for me at the start of the year when I decided not to re-sign with LIV was to try to make my way back to the PGA Tour," Reed said Tuesday ahead of this week's Spanish Open in Madrid, per www.tsn.ca.
That decision has put him in position to complete the comeback. Reed enters the final stretch of the year leading Rory McIlroy in the season-long Race to Dubai standings, per www.tsn.ca. A strong February — victories in Dubai and Qatar with a runner-up finish in Bahrain — set the tone for a season that has him on the verge of securing his PGA Tour return on merit.
A HUGE YEAR
That February stretch in the Middle East was the foundation. Reed split victories in Dubai and Qatar with a runner-up finish in Bahrain, per www.tsn.ca, and the results announced his return in a hurry.
Reed called this a "huge year" for both his career and his family, per www.tsn.ca. He had to go earn his spot back, and the way he put it, going out there and playing the way he has been means a lot.
"I had to go earn my spot back, and to be able to go out there and earn it back and play the way I've been playing, means a lot," Reed said, per www.tsn.ca.
The season has not been without its interruptions. Reed returns to action this week in Spain after withdrawing from the BMW PGA Championship with a hand injury and pulling out of the French Open, per www.tsn.ca. The severity of that hand injury is not specified in the source.
That leaves the closing stretch as the final test. Reed leads the Race to Dubai with the season's last events ahead, and he has made clear what a trophy would mean. He has had to work for everything this year, and the finish line is in sight.
THE NUMBERS AND STAKES
The stakes for Reed are concrete. The leading 10 players from the European tour not already exempt earn PGA Tour cards for 2027, per www.tsn.ca. That is the door he chose to walk through rather than take a LIV lifeline.
Reed is trying to become the second American to win the Race to Dubai, after Collin Morikawa in 2021, per www.tsn.ca. He currently leads Rory McIlroy in the season-long standings, the same source reports.
The math is simple: hold the lead through the closing events and the comeback is complete. Fall short and the road back gets longer.
EARNING IT ON MERIT
Reed made his position plain: LIV players should earn their way back to the PGA Tour through results, not reputation. "I'm a firm believer that if you earn your right to play somewhere you should be able to play, but you have to earn it," he said, per www.tsn.ca.
That belief shaped his own path. "I've always wanted to earn my spot rather than having a spot given," Reed added. He framed the route as simple in principle, demanding in practice: "You have to go out there and do the work, you know, go out there and not only just work hard but also play well."
For the 2018 Masters champion, the standard applies to everyone. He said the "only way" back for LIV players to the PGA Tour should be on merit through results, per www.tsn.ca. The mechanism, in his words, is direct: "I feel like that's the only way that you should be able to get back is by going out there and letting the clubs do the talking."
That is exactly what he has done this season. Splitting victories in Dubai and Qatar with a runner-up finish in Bahrain gave him the platform, and he has held the Race to Dubai lead since. Reed called it a "huge year" not just for his career but for his family, because he had to go earn his spot back instead of having one handed to him.
The pride in that distinction runs through everything he says. He has always seen himself as "that American that likes to play around the world," and the global route back has only reinforced the point. The clubs have done the talking. Now the final events will decide whether that talk ends with a trophy.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Reed is part of a strong field in Spain this week for the Spanish Open in Madrid, returning to action after withdrawing from the BMW PGA Championship with a hand injury and pulling out of the French Open, per www.tsn.ca.
His goal for the final stretch is direct. Reed said he hopes to "play well these last couple of events" and "hold everyone off and win the Race to Dubai," according to www.tsn.ca. That would cap a season that began with victories in Dubai and Qatar and a runner-up finish in Bahrain.
The source notes Reed's pride in being "that American that likes to play around the wor" — the quote is cut off in the source material, so his exact words are not fully available. What is clear is that the global route back has been central to his identity, not just a detour.
The next events will decide whether the comeback ends with the season-long title. Reed leads Rory McIlroy in the standings, and the leading 10 players from the European tour not already exempt earn PGA Tour cards for 2027. The Spanish Open is the immediate test, with the season's final events to follow.
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