Just two weeks later leaving LIV Golf and declaring his intentions to return to the PGA Tour, Patrick Reed already looks close to closing his card for the 2027 season.
On Sunday, Reed became the first American to win the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters. The win, his second on the European circuit in three weeks, takes Reed to the top of the Race To Dubai standings. The top 10 players not already banned from the PGA Tour receive cards at the end of the season. Reed won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic two weeks ago and lost in a playoff last week at Bahrain before lifting the trophy in Qatar.
“This little run I’ve had, two wins and a second, it’s great,” Reed said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more than what we did. It’s special to come out here, especially to get two wins early in the season, and hopefully there will be a lot more.”
Two weeks ago, after his victory in Dubai, Reed revealed that he was not currently under contract with LIV Golf and was still negotiating his return to the league. Three days later, REed announced that he was leaving LIV AND planned to play in the DP World Tour in 2026 while he waited for his PGA Tour suspension, which runs until the end of August, to end. He planned to use the exclusion of his past champions to regain status. But with two wins and a playoff loss in his last three DP World Tour starts, Reed has already locked up a PGA Tour card for 2027.
2018 Masters Champion currently has 2259.70 points in the Race to Dubai. Last season, Jordan Smith finished 10th with 2,203.32 points. In 2024, Tom McKibbin, who eventually decided to give up the PGA Tour to join LIV, finished 10th with 1,897.45 points.
Reed entered Sunday in Qatar with the lead, but early players at No. 2 and No. 6 saw him fall from the lead. Reed steadied the ship on the back nine making birdies at 10, 11 and 14 to eventually beat Callum Scott by two.
“It didn’t look too good out there on the front nine,” Reed said. “To lose the lead like that and then to be able to turn the key there on the back nine was obviously amazing. I only needed one putt to get in. I mean, I had 18 putts on the front nine; yesterday, I had 33 putts, so I felt like I was hitting the ball well. I felt like I was hitting the ball well. I felt like right when we made the turn – you know, we decided to believe at that point and follow the process at that point, and we were able to do it.
“I feel amazing. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet, but today, as stressful as the day was, I was very proud because it could have easily gotten away from me. The golf we’ve played since basically the off-season has been stellar golf. I feel very confident in my golf game right now, and it’s always a great way to play here.”
With the win, Reed also moves into the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since 2021. He is banned from the Masters for good, but his position on the OWGR means he should be eligible to play all four majors this season.
Patrick Reed needed all three events on the DP World Tour to secure his full-time PGA Tour card for the 2027 season.
But now sitting at the top of the Race to Dubai, Reed aims to become the first American to win the Race to Dubai since Collin Morikawa in 2021.
“It’s always on your radar,” Reed said. “Trust me, you’d rather be in the lead than hunt and chase. It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American and come out here and win the Dubai Race. And hey, we’re off to a fast start.”
