There is a battle going on between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed. This is why

There is a battle going on between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.

Another one battle, that is.

These guys have history. Complex history. Feel-good history and feel-weird history. And they’re about to add to it.

Before we look ahead, let’s go back.

There was the wild back and forth match at the Hazeltine Ryder Cup, the competition that launched the silence and the I-can’t-hear-you and helped lift the biennial event into the stratosphere.

There was the final group in the 2018 Masters, where McIlroy faltered and Reed had the upper hand, with one man’s best chance at the grand slam of his career disappearing as the defining moment of his opponent’s career unfolded next to him.

They were good times. Relations seemed great. Game respected game. When Reed found himself at the center of a rules controversy, McIlroy said he had had nothing but “great interactions” with Reed.

“I don’t think it would be a big deal if it wasn’t Patrick Reed. For a lot of people in the game, it’s almost a hobby to kick him when he’s down,” McIlroy said. at the time.

It was years later that things went sideways.

Reed left the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022. Later that year, he enlisted the help of (now suspended) attorney Larry Klayman and sued several media members for the bulk of billions of dollars. In a separate lawsuit, Klayman also sued the PGA Tour — including serving subpoenas at McIlroy’s home on Christmas Eve. What’s a lawsuit among friends, right?!

It turns out McIlroy didn’t see things that way. When Reed came to say hello at a driving range in Dubai a few weeks later, he was less than warmly received. McIlroy didn’t say hello back, Reed walked away and threw a 4Aces tee back in his direction.

A few 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 respond. It’s a shame. But it’s one of those things: If you’re going to act like an immature little child, you might as well be treated like one.”

The incident also included one of the most disbelieving expressions in the history of disbelieving expressions:

But Reed was not immediately reinstated for PGA Tour play; he will have to sit out until the fall season, once his one-year suspension ends. As a result, he finds himself in a funny situation between LIV and the PGA Tour, which puts him in a third tier: the battleground of the DP World Tour.

Once the calendar turned to 2026, Reed found a special shape. He won in Dubai. He lost in a play-off in Bahrain. And last weekend he won in Qatar. That T2 victory catapulted him to No. 17 in the world and, interestingly, a clear No. 1 in the DPWT’s Race to Dubai.

This is important for two reasons. The first is that Reed was only granted partial status on the PGA Tour for the next few seasons; he was a former 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 he will achieve that.

Which brings us back to the whole point of this introduction.

Reed’s recent play is Also important because of what it means to McIlroy. The world number 2 has won four races to Dubai in a row, and seven in total – one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s all-time record. Surpassing that record is high on McIlroy’s list of remaining goals, and despite a limited international schedule he has made it look relatively lighthearted.

But Reed’s quarantine season adds an extra variable to this year’s equation. While McIlroy is at Pebble Beach this week, where he begins his PGA Tour season, Reed will play wherever and whenever he wants on the DPWT. Without McIlroy, he was able to rack up points in fields next to him for months. 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 to Dubai and we’re off to a fast start,” Reed said after his latest victory, with a characteristic grin.

It’s still early of course. The biggest points gain comes during the four major championships, where McIlroy and Reed compete against each other. McIlroy will also play at the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open, where Reed is also eligible to compete. McIlroy won last year’s Race to Dubai with 5,975 points; Reed currently leads with 2,260. He still has a long way to go. But he also has a healthy lead, especially since McIlroy only has 269.

McIlroy won’t need any extra motivation as he returns to Augusta National as the defending champion. And that includes Reed, whose fire always burns bright. But it will be an intriguing subplot as these two tangle at their sport’s biggest events, a decade after their Hazeltine showdown.

It’s only February, but one thing seems certain: these two will each be back in Dubai in mid-November to tee off at the DP World Tour Championship. Of course, there is no guarantee that either of them will leave with the season title.

But there’s a guarantee that one of them won’t.

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