In January, PGA Tour villain turned LIV golf star Patrick Reed announced a shocking decision. He was leaving LIV to play the 2026 season on the DP World Tour.
At the time, Reed was the first LIV star ever Brooks Koepka to leave the upstart league for a return to the conventional career path of pro golf. It turned out to be a wise move.
Reed did not receive a special exemption to return to the PGA Tour in 2026, as Koepka did, so he took matters into his own hands. Within weeks of his release from LIV, Reed won two DP World Tour events to catapult himself into first place in the Race ranking in Dubai.
The top 10 players in the Race to Dubai at the end of the season earn their PGA Tour cards. With one tournament to go, Reed sits in third. He has a great chance to win the title, but in any case, he has already secured his return to the 2027 PGA Tour.
It’s an enviable position to be in, especially compared to Reed’s former compatriots LIV who have decided to stay with the upstart league in 2026. Now LIV Golf is no moreand, unlike Reed, those players scramble to find playing opportunities for next year while serving lengthy PGA Tour bans.
But in his pre-tournament press conference at this week’s DP World Tour Championship, Reed explained that he does not get “satisfaction” from the fact that so many LIV players are stuck in difficult situations after the death of the league, while he makes PGA Tour plans for 2027.
The 2018 Masters champion also revealed serious ambitions for his PGA Tour and potentially Ryder Cup return next year.
Patrick Reed beat other LIV pros on the PGA Tour: “I’m not really satisfied”
Make no mistake, Reed is happy with his decision to leave LIV earlier this year before the league collapsed. He’s also proud of himself for putting in the work and earning his way back to the PGA Tour the hard way.
“It’s been a very fulfilling year, and really, I’ve been reflecting a little bit over the last couple of weeks on how to get out of there,” Reed said. “And the rankings don’t really mean anything at the beginning of the year, throughout the year and everything like that. It’s about going out there and doing the job.”
With victories at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at the end of January and the Qatar Masters in early FebruaryReed did just that, almost earning his 2027 PGA Tour card before the end of winter.
“To take that step and get the opportunity, to have to finish in the top 10 to earn my spot on the PGA Tour, and basically go out there and believe in myself and put all my eggs in one basket and go get the job done means a lot,” Reed said.
But Reed is quick to clarify that he does not take pleasure in the fact that dozens of other LIV professionals are a year behind in their returns to the DP World and PGA tours.
“To be honest with you, I mean, I don’t really get any satisfaction from making a decision and watching other guys sit out a year and have the repercussions of that,” Reed said. “The most satisfaction is going out there and playing solid golf. You never want to see guys struggling or having to sit out, things like that.”
Instead, Reed empathizes with those players, many of whom he calls “good friends.” He also expressed hope that they could follow in his footsteps and earn their way back to the PGA Tour via the DP World Tour next year.
“We’re all competitors,” Reed said. “We’re all athletes and, really, at the end of the day, a lot of those guys that come through that are good friends of mine. You sit here, and you just hope that they’re able to go out and do what I did: go out and play solid golf and go out on the PGA Tour.”
Reed reveals big ambitions for PGA Tour, returns to Ryder Cup
While Reed has more immediate concerns on his hands at the DP World Tour Championship, he revealed that he has already imagined what he wants to do next year on the PGA Tour, that is to “assert himself” among the elite of pro golf and qualify for the 2027 US Ryder Cup team.
“I haven’t really set my goals, but obviously back in the PGA Tour, go make the Ryder Cup team,” Reed said of his 2027 plans. “Go out and get back to the winner’s circle in the PGA Tour like I was just before I left. Go there and affirm me in the Top 10 in the world again.”
The 36-year-old, nine-time Tour winner also has something in mind for next year: winning more majors.
“Getting back to where I feel like I should be, and just keep giving myself opportunities and have fun on the weekends and compete in the majors and hopefully get more than just one green jacket that I have,” Reed said. “I hope to win a couple more.”
Before joining LIV, Reed not only made a name for himself on the PGA Tour and at Augusta National, he was also a stalwart of the US Ryder Cup team. His successes with the American side, and his rivalry with Rory McIlroyearned the nickname “Captain America”.
In his press conference, Reed said it would mean “everything” to play for the US team at Adare Manor next fall and to return to “being a thorn in the side for the Europeans.”
“Any time I can represent the United States and wear the red, white and blue means a lot to me,” Reed said. “And I know, obviously, for my team and my family, and yes, to come back and play on those Ryder Cup teams and be a thorn in the side for those Europeans has always been something I’ve always enjoyed and enjoyed.”
He continued: “It’s one of those things that as a golfer and as a player, you always want. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re in, you want to represent your country and go out there and play for your country.”
Reed has made it clear that the Ryder Cup will be among his main goals for 2027. It may even be his No. 1 goal. 1 for the season.
“So to me, it would mean a lot,” Reed said. “And obviously I know that next year it will be important to go out and play really well next year to make the team. It will definitely be part of the goals, if not right at the top the first thing I want to do is to go out and represent our country and play for the United States.”
Before Reed can start grinding for a Ryder Cup spot on the PGA Tour, he pressed business to take care of this week.
With a win in the DP World Tour Championship, Reed would have secured the Race to Dubai title. If successful, he will join Collin Morikawa as the only American to claim the European crown.
“But we’re not done,” Reed said. “We have one more week, and we still have a chance to be the second American to win the Race to Dubai, which would mean a lot to me. So hopefully we can get out there and close out the year.”
To make it happen, he will have to pass two of his biggest rivals from the past Ryder Cups: McIlroy and Jon Rahm.