Say what you will about Patrick Reed – and who hasn’t said something about him – but since he splashed onto the professional golf scene a little more than a decade ago he has had the gift of drawing attention to himself.
For better or worse but mostly for being Patrick Reed.
He’s doing it again.
It’s not just Reed’s surprise announcement last month that was leaving LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour later this year.
Now, that move has been seasoned by Reed’s standout play in this still-young golf campaign. Committed to playing the DP World Tour for the time being, Reed has commandeered the spotlight, winning two of his three starts in 2026, the most recent being his victory Sunday in the Qatar Masters.
His performance is almost certainly enough to assure Reed will lock down one of the 10 PGA Tour cards awarded to DP World Tour players at the end of each year, further enhancing his status for the 2027 season here.
That was stacked upon Reed’s win against a deep field in January’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic and a runner-up finish against a not-so-strong field in Bahrain the following week. Regardless of how deep the fields were in Bahrain and Qatar, Reed has been on an extended heater.
His performance is almost certainly enough to assure Reed will lock down one of the 10 PGA Tour cards awarded to DP World Tour players at the end of each year, further enhancing his status for the 2027 season here. It also sets up a potential battle between him and Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai as McIlroy will be trying to win his fifth straight Harry Vardon Trophy overseas and tie Colin Montgomerie with eight wins all-time.
Don’t forget that Reed finished third at the Masters last April, just two swings out of the McIlroy-Justin Rose playoff. Imagine if Reed had thrust himself into the playoff with all that was already spinning in the April air.
Reed has been good enough that he’s now ranked 17th in the world after playing the bulk of his tournament golf on the points-free LIV tour. He is nothing if not self-confident and self-reliant.
“I can take a ton of confidence from [winning in Qatar],” Reed said.
“To come out and have a lot of stuff going on early in the run, not just golf-wise but everything else that kind of was going on, and then to come out and play as well as I did in Dubai and to back it up after winning and almost a chance [in Bahrain] – feel like I kind of let that one slip away – to have an opportunity here and to capitalize on it obviously means a lot.”
In his four seasons at LIV, Reed didn’t draw the attention that Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm did but he earned more than $42 million in prize money in the team-based league. A member of 4Aces GC, Reed was part of seven team victories and finally got his lone individual title in Dallas last summer.
Reed has cast himself as a traditionalist at heart as he plays toward his return to the PGA Tour, and maybe he is despite joining the renegade league.
He also said one of the reasons he joined LIV was to have more time at home because of the league’s limited schedule but he played more than 30 events last year, playing in – among other places – Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Macau, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the United States.
Reed has always talked about how he prefers to play tournament golf rather than be at home working on his game. Some players revel in the prep. Reed lives for the competitive moment no matter how many air miles it might require.
It was almost 12 years ago that Reed turned heads by calling himself a top-five player in the world after winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, an audacious remark that offered a glimpse into Reed’s mindset.
His 7-3-2 career Ryder Cup record may not make him Arnold Palmer (22-8-2 in the Ryder Cup) but Reed has been an undeniable force for the American team, though his “Captain America” persona was dinged when he lost two of three matches in Paris in 2018 and, afterward, openly questioned captain Jim Furyk’s strategy while also being critical of teammate Jordan Spieth. Reed will be eligible for the U.S. Presidents Cup team later this year should captain Brandt Snedeker feel so inclined to select him.
It was almost 12 years ago that Reed turned heads by calling himself a top-five player in the world after winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, an audacious remark that offered a glimpse into Reed’s mindset. Reed has never been ranked higher than sixth in the official list but, given his recent run, it’s difficult to find five players in better form.
When Reed returns full-time to the PGA Tour, it will be interesting to see the public’s reaction. Between his outspokenness and some high-profile rules issues, Reed didn’t win a lot of hearts initially but his time away may have softened some of the hard feelings.
Reed has 13 professional victories including nine on the PGA Tour. That puts his career numbers, including a Masters victory, among the best of his generation.
He’s not in the McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler orbit but Reed has been and continues to be a formidable force.
Two months out from the Masters, he is turning heads again.
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