Patrick Reed has virtually locked up a PGA Tour card for 2027 – and now he could be on a collision course with record-chasing Rory McIlroy…
Patrick Reed has started his 2026 season in an emphatic hurry.
The 35-year-old American ended January with a victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and barely 48 hours later stunned the game by walking away from LIV Golf.
With his return to the PGA Tour delayed until August due to a 12-month suspension from his last LIV start, Reed declared his intention to spend the majority of his season on the DP World Tour.
After his Rolex Series win in Dubai, Reed then fell in a playoff at the Bahrain Championship. But victory in the Qatar Masters on Sunday has given Reed his second victory in three DP World Tour starts. He finishes this incredible Middle East swing inside the top 20 in the world rankings, meaning he should be assured of a place in all four majors this season.
That, however, is not all.
Reed’s win at Doha Golf Club earned him 585 Race to Dubai points and he has now surged into a huge lead on the DP World’s Tour order of merit with 2,259.7 points, more than 400 ahead of South Africa’s Jayden Schaper – who is also a two-time winner already this season – in second.
He is now virtually guaranteed to earn a PGA Tour card by finishing top-10 among those not already exempt in the Race to Dubai standings. Jordan Smith locked up a PGA Tour card with 2,203.32 points last year, while Tom McKibbin finished 10th with 1,897.45 points in 2024, before giving up his card to join LIV.
“This little run I’ve had – two wins and a second – it’s awesome,” Reed said. “We couldn’t ask anything more than what we did. It’s special to come out here, especially to get two wins early on in the season, and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American that comes out to win the Race to Dubai and we’re off to a fast start” 😍
Patrick Reed reflects on his second DP World Tour win this season 🎙️ #QatarMasters pic.twitter.com/rujYWxPxpw
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 8, 2026
Reed was going to return to the PGA Tour on a past champion exemption anyway, but he is already close to snaffling a card that will give him improved status with access to more tournaments.
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, will certainly be taking note of this hot streak.
McIlroy has made the Race to Dubai a monopoly with four consecutive titles, edging just one short of Colin Montgomerie’s record tally of eight Harry Vardon trophies. Breaking Montgomerie’s record is one of McIlroy’s lasting goals in a garlanded career which was virtually completed by last year’s career Grand Slam-clinching Masters triumph.
But from his three counting starts this season, McIlroy sits in 30th position in the Race to Dubai standings on 269.20 points, almost 2,000 behind Reed. He has historically seized control of the race in the majors and in Rolex Series events through the summer months, needing only 11 counting starts to win the season-long race last year.
But Reed, of course, will be playing in plenty more events and there is a chance that if he can continue this form into the majors, his lead will become unassailable. The 2018 Masters champion is determined to become the first American to win the Race to Dubai since Collin Morikawa in 2021.
So if McIlroy needed any fresh incentive to go again after his career-defining 2025, perhaps this is it.
“Trust me, you’d rather be in the lead than hunting and chasing,” said Reed after his two shot victory over Scotland’s Calum Hill in Qatar. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American and come out here and win the Race to Dubai.
“And hey, we’re off to a fast start.”