Rory McIlroy is in India this week.
So is Patrick Reed.
They meet on a new battlefield. And with something decidedly different at stake.
We are now a decade into the McIlroy-Reed rivalry. The two tangled in singles at the 2016 Ryder Cup and in the final group at Augusta National in the 2018 Masters. They chose opposite sides in the LIV Golf-PGA Tour saga. Reed’s lawyer garden sub shop McIlroy on Christmas Eve in 2022. Things have been chips on the driving range in Dubai in 2023. You get the idea; these two won’t be going on vacation together anytime soon.
But they ended up in New Delhi together this week, each chasing valuable points as the finish line approaches in the DP World Tour race to Dubai. It is a title that McIlroy has won four years in a row and seven times in general, which is only one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s record, which he longs for. He is currently third in the ranking. Reed holds the head.
Rewind a year or two and this particular battle would have sounded impossible. This event in India does not exist. McIlroy had never been to India. And Reed was still in play for the 4Aces, with plans to extend its range with LIV Golf.
But then things changed. McIlroy brought his support behind the new DP World India Championship, adding the Australian Open, open national hunts and new experiences. Reed left LIV and was suspended from the PGA Tour, which left him the opportunity to play on the DP World Tour – and then he started winning. Now he hopes to join Collin Morikawa as the only Americans to lift the massive year-end trophy.
So there they were on Tuesday, even sharing a smile, a handshake and a brief chat during a photo shoot at the Delhi Golf Club.
Each has been complementary to the other all season. At last month’s BMW PGA Championship, Reed said he relished the opportunity to take on someone of McIlroy’s caliber.
“Every time I get to go play against Rory, it’s always fun because that means you get to play amazing golf. With his record and just his resume that he has, he’s a champion. He’s been a champion a ton of times,” he said.
McIlroy added that he needed no extra incentive to go all-in.
“Yeah, look, I’m motivated regardless of who it is,” he told Wentworth. “Obviously Patrick and I have had a lot of battles over the years, whether it’s Ryder Cup, final round in a big one, Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he played well all year. I respect him for how he went, and coming here, he put his head down and did the job, and it was really nice.”
They will be colleagues again on next year’s PGA Tour; Reed’s suspension is now, and he will earn one of the 10 cards of the DP World Tour for 2027. But Reed’s battle is not only with McIlroy; if he can fend off Eugenio Chacarra (currently No. 2 in the rankings) and finish the season ahead of all other non-PGA Tour members, he will also earn a spot in the Signature events.
Everything will be resolved in a month, when the two take on the DP World Tour playoffs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. But first comes a match in one of the most unique settings in competitive golf.
You can see the top five below, or complete the Race to Dubai rankings here.
1. Patrick Reed – 3423.6 points
2. Eugenio Chacarra – 3257.9 pts
3. Rory McIlroy – 3115.9 pts
4. Casey Jarvis – 2654.0 pts
5. Aaron Wry – 2,408.5 pts
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