Patrick Reed knows his way back to the PGA Tour. On Sunday he took another big step towards return in Bahrain.
Last Sunday, the 2018 Masters champion won the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic and announced that he is currently not under contract with LIV Golf. Three days later, Reed announced that he was leaving LIV Golf and is looking forward to returning to the PGA Tour after serving a one-year suspension from the date of his last LIV start, which was in August.
Once he can reinstate his membership on January 1, 2027, Reed will have former champion status, but he can earn full playing privileges by finishing among the DP World Tour’s top 10 non-PGA Tour members at season’s end. Reed announced his intention to use the DP World Tour path to regain access to the PGA Tour.
“I’m very excited to be playing here on the DP World Tour,” Reed said after his first round in Bahrain. “I am very excited to return to the PGA Tour and play close to home.”
That victory in Dubai moved him to No. 2 on the Race to Dubai points list, and he arrived in Bahrain for the Bahrain Championship looking to add to his ledger.
After a shaky opening round, Reed played his next 36 holes at nine under to enter Sunday just four strokes behind leader Calum Hill. Reed said he would rely on the “hunter” energy on Sunday to track down Hill, and he did just that, playing his first 14 holes in six under, tying Hill and Freddy Schott. Reed dropped a shot on No. 16, but sent it into the clubhouse to post 17 under.
Reed was one behind Schott and Hill when he finished, but both dropped a shot on the way in to set up a three-man play-off.
However, Reed bogeyed the first playoff hole and had to settle for a T2 finish as Schott defeated Hill on the second playoff hole to capture his first career DP World Tour title.
Despite the loss, Reed’s T2 finish strengthened his position in the Race to Dubai rankings. Reed remains No. 2 on the points list, but is now only 67 points behind Jayden Schaper, who won twice this winter.
Reed accepted the punishment imposed on him by the PGA Tour. He did not meet the criteria of the Returning Members Program, which allowed Brooks Koepka to return without serving a suspension. That’s fine with him, because he knows the path back to the Tour he once left.
After two starts in the Middle East, Reed is already well on his way and as long as his steady play continues he should be in possession of a PGA Tour membership card again. November.
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