Just two weeks after leaving LIV Golf and declaring his intention to return to the PGA Tour, Patrick Reed appears to have already closed his card for the 2027 season.
On Sunday, Reed became the first American to win the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters. The victory, his second on the European circuit in three weeks, moves Reed to the top of the Race To Dubai rankings. The top 10 players who have not yet been cleared for the PGA Tour will receive tickets at the end of the season. Reed won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic two weeks ago and lost in a play-off in Bahrain last week before lifting the trophy in Qatar.
“This little run I’ve had, two wins and a second, is great,” Reed said. “We couldn’t ask for anything more than what we did. It’s special to come here, especially to get two wins early in the season, and hopefully many more to come.”
Two weeks ago, following his victory in Dubai, Reed revealed that he was not currently under contract with LIV Golf and was still negotiating his return to competition. Three days later, Reed announced he was leaving LIV and planned to play on the DP World Tour in 2026 while he waited for his PGA Tour suspension, which lasts until the end of August, to end. He planned to use his former champions’ exemption to regain status. But with two wins and a playoff loss in his last three DP World Tour starts, Reed is already close to securing a 2027 PGA Tour card.
The 2018 Masters Champion currently has 2,259.70 points in the Race to Dubai. Last season, Jordan Smith finished 10th with 2,203.32 points. In 2024, Tom McKibbin, who ultimately decided to forego the PGA Tour to join LIV, finished 10th with 1,897.45 points.
Reed came into Sunday’s Qatar with the lead, but early bogeys at No. 2 and No. 6 saw him fall from the lead. Reed steadied the ship on the back nine by making birdies at 10, 11 and 14, eventually beating 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 be able to flip the switch on the back nine obviously felt great. I just needed a putt to get in. I mean, I had 18 putts on the front nine; yesterday I had 33 putts, so I felt like I hit the ball well. I felt right when we made the turn – you know, we were chasing at that point – I just decided to go for it and trust the putter and trust the process to trust, and we were able to kind of get it done.
“I’m feeling great. This hasn’t fully sunk in yet, but today, with how stressful the day was, I felt really proud because it could have very easily passed me by. The golf we’ve played since the off-season has been great golf. I’m really confident in my golf game now and it’s always great to come and play the way we do, especially here.”
With the victory, Reed also enters the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time since 2021. He is exempt from playing in the Masters for life, but his position in the OWGR means he should be eligible to play all four major championships this season.
It took Patrick Reed all three tournaments on the DP World Tour to likely secure his full-time PGA Tour card for the 2027 season.
But now sitting atop the Race To Dubai, Reed has his sights set on becoming the first American to win the Race To Dubai since Collin Morikawa in 2021.
“It’s always on your radar,” Reed said. “Believe me, you’d rather be ahead than chasing and chasing. It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American and come here and win the Race to Dubai. And yes, we’re off to a fast start.”
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