Patrick Reed knows his way back to the PGA Tour. On Sunday in Bahrain, he took another big step towards a comeback.
Last Sunday the 2018 Masters champion won the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic and revealed that he was not currently under contract with LIV Golf. Three days later, Reed made the announcement he was leaving LIV Golf and is looking forward to returning to the PGA Tour after serving a one-year suspension from his last LIV start date, which came in August.
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Patrick Reed’s bombshell drop from LIV: How, why and what’s next?
Dylan Dethier
Once he is able to reinstate his membership on January 1, 2027, Reed will have past champion status, but he can earn full playing privileges by finishing among the top 10 members of the DP World Tour at the end of the season. Reed announced that he planned to use the DP World Tour path to gain entry to the PGA Tour.
“I’m really excited to be here playing on the DP World Tour,” Reed said after his first round in Bahrain. “Really excited to get back on the PGA Tour and start playing close to home.”
That victory in Dubai moved him to No. 2 on the Dubai Race points list and he arrived in Bahrain for Bahrain Championship asks to add to his book.
After a shaky opening round, Reed played his next 36 holes in nine under to enter Sunday just four shots behind leader Calum Hill. Reed said he would rely on “the hunter’s” energy Sunday to track down Hill, and he did just that by playing the first 14 holes in six under to tie Hill and Freddy Schott for the lead. Reed dropped a shot on No. 16 but drove it into the clubhouse to post 17 under.
Reed was one behind Schott and Hill when it finished, but both dropped a shot en route to set up a three-man playoff.
However, Reed birdied the first playoff hole and had to settle for a T2 finish as Schott went on to beat Hill on the second playoff hole to win his first career DP World Tour title.
Despite the loss, Reed’s T2 finish solidified his position in the Race to Dubai standings. Reed remains No. 2 on the points list, but is now just 67 points behind Jayden Schaper, who won twice during the winter.
Reed accepted the penalty handed down to him by the PGA Tour. He did not meet the criteria for the “Returning Member Program,” which allowed Brooks Koepka to return without serving a suspension. He’s fine with that because he knows his way back to the Tour he once left.
After two starts in the Middle East, Reed is already a long way down the road and, as long as his consistent play continues, he should find himself holding a PGA Tour membership card again. November.
