A battle is brewing between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
Another one battle, that is.
These guys have history. Complex history. Feel good story and strange story. And they will be added to it.
Before we look forward, let’s go back.
There it was wild back and forth match in the Hazeltine Ryder Cup, the match that started the shush and “Can’t Hear You” and helped propel the biennial event into the stratosphere.
Reed and Rory at the 2016 Ryder Cup.
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There it was the final group at the 2018 Masters, where McIlroy faltered and Reed prevailed, a man’s best chance at a career Grand Slam vanished as his opponent’s career-defining moment unfolded beside him.
These were good times. Relations seemed excellent. Game respected game. When Reed found himself at the center of a rules controversy, McIlroy said he’d only had “great interactions” with Reed.
“I don’t think it would be a big deal if it wasn’t for Patrick Reed. A lot of people within the game, it’s almost like a hobby to kick him when he’s down,” McIlroy said. at that time.
Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy played together in the final pairing at the 2018 Masters.
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Years later things went sideways.
Reed left the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022. Later that year he sought the services of (now suspended) attorney Larry Klayman and sued various members of the media for the better part of a billion dollars. In a separate lawsuit, Klayman also sued the PGA Tour — and in the process served McIlroy with a subpoena at his home on Christmas Eve. What is a lawsuit between friends, right?!
As it turned out, McIlroy didn’t see things that way. When Reed came to say hello at a training ground in Dubai a few weeks later, he received something less than a warm welcome. McIlroy didn’t say hello, Reed walked away and teed off 4Aces back in his direction.
Rory blasting Patrick Reed:
“I didn’t see a tee coming my way at all, but apparently that’s what happened. And if the roles were reversed and I had thrown that tee at him, I’d expect a lawsuit.”pic.twitter.com/thXPfvz5Kp
A couple of loaded quotes followed. First this, from McIlroy:
“I live in reality, I don’t know where he lives. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”
And then this, from Reed:
“He saw me and decided not to react. It’s unfortunate. But it’s one of those things: if you’re going to act like an immature little kid, then you might as well be treated like one.”
The incident also involved one of the most incredible expressions in the history of expressions of disbelief:
All of them that brings us back to the present day. More than three years later, McIlroy has his Masters, Reed has turned down LIV for a PGA Tour comeback, and we’re likely to have an uneasy reunion between the two at some point. There have been signs of goodwill; McIlroy hasn’t exactly offered to throw Reed a welcome back party, but he has now endorsed Reed’s return as “good for the PGA Tour” in many cases.
But Reed isn’t immediately back for PGA Tour play; he will have to sit out the fall season after his one-year suspension expires. As a result, he’s in a ridiculous limbo between LIV and the PGA Tour, which puts him in a third league: DP World Tour battleground territory.
After the calendar turned to 2026, Reed found a special form. He won in Dubai. He lost in a playoff in Bahrain. And just last weekend he won in Qatar. This win-T2-win catapulted him to world number 17 and, interestingly, a clear number in the DPWT race to Dubai.
This is important for two reasons. The first is that Reed was only guaranteed partial status on the PGA Tour for the coming seasons; he was a past champion but needed to finish in the top 10 of the DPWT to earn full status for 2027. Now, based on historical data, he is almost certain to achieve this.
Which brings us back to the whole point of this preamble.
Reed’s last game is also important because of what it means for McIlroy. The World No. 2 has won four consecutive races in Dubai and seven in total – one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s all-time record. Breaking that record is high on McIlroy’s remaining goals list, and despite a limited international schedule, it has made him look relatively fresh.
But Reed’s quarantine season is throwing an extra variable into this year’s equation. While McIlroy is at Pebble Beach this week, starting his PGA Tour season, Reed will play wherever and whenever he wants on the DPWT. He could rack up points for months without McIlroy on the courses beside him. It’s unclear how much he’ll play – but it’s clear the title is on his mind.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American who wins the race in Dubai and we’re off to a fast start,” Reed said after his latest win, flashing a trademark smile.
It’s still early, of course. The biggest points draws come in the four major championships, where McIlroy and Reed will go head-to-head. McIlroy will also play the Genesis Scottish Open, where Reed will also be eligible to compete. McIlroy won last year’s event in Dubai with 5,975 points; Reed currently leads with 2,260. He has a long way to go. But he’s also off to a healthy start — especially considering McIlroy is only 269.
McIlroy won’t need any extra motivation when he returns to Augusta National as the defending champion. Nor Reed, whose fire always burns bright. But it will be an intriguing subplot as these two tangle in their sport’s biggest events, a decade after their Hazeltine showdown.
It’s only February, but one thing seems certain: In mid-November, these two will each be back in Dubai making it to the DP World Tour Championship. There’s no guarantee either of them will walk away with the season title, of course.
But there is a guarantee that one of them will not.
;)
;)
