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Reed returns from wrist injury wanting to earn his way back to the PGA TOUR
The Race to Dubai leader returns at the Open de España after three weeks out, 307 points clear of Rory McIlroy and on course for a 2027 PGA TOUR card. He says playing his way back is the only way it should work.
Patrick Reed tees off in the Open de España in Madrid on Thursday, three weeks after a wrist injury ended his BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai, also missed last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links (our report at the time).
Reed, 36, left LIV Golf without renewing his contract and has spent 2026 on the DP World Tour. The top ten players on the Race to Dubai who are not already exempt earn PGA TOUR cards for the following season, and Reed tops the standings.
“I’ve always wanted to earn my spot rather than having a spot given,” Reed said in Madrid on Tuesday, according to Golf Channel. Asked about other LIV players looking for a way back, he argued that playing well enough to qualify should be the only route.
According to Golf Digest, Brooks Koepka is the only player to have taken up the PGA TOUR’s one-time re-entry offer. Reed won in Dubai and Qatar early in the year. Only one American, Collin Morikawa in 2021, has won the Race to Dubai.
Reed’s three weeks off have cost him nothing in the standings so far, because his nearest rival has not played either. After the Dunhill Links the top of the Race to Dubai reads:
| Pos | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Reed | 3,423.62 |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy | 3,115.86 |
| 3 | Eugenio Chacarra | 2,824.39 |
| 4 | Casey Jarvis | 2,654.01 |
| 5 | Aaron Rai | 2,408.50 |
Source: DP World Tour standings via Golfmagic, updated after the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
McIlroy is not in Madrid. His remaining DP World Tour starts, he has said, are the India Championship and the Play-Offs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which carry the biggest points of the year.
Reed goes out at 9:30 local time (07:30 GMT) on Thursday with Shane Lowry and Eugenio Chacarra, who has won twice this season.
Sources
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