DUBAI — Patrick Reed kicked the door open for a likely pathway into all four majors with a dominant victory Sunday at the Dubai Desert Classic catapulting him back into the top 30 on the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in almost four years.
The former Masters champion, who splits his time between LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, was projected to climb 15 places on the OWGR to No. 29. Reed upstaged an elite field in Dubai including Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland to win one of the European circuit’s biggest events.
Advertisement
“I think the biggest thing this week that is so special is I’ve won on every tour except this one,” Reed, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and once on LIV Golf, said at the Emirates G.C. “Even though online it says I had three [DP World Tour] wins, one was a major and two were WGC events. They were all co-sanctioned. It’s something that was always kind of been eating at me … not actually having a win over here.”
Reed led by four shots going into the final day and carded an even-par 72 to finish at 14 under par, four shots ahead of England’s Andy Sullivan. Frenchman Julien Guerrier was third at nine under while former British Open champion Francesco Molinari was among a trio tied fourth.
RELATED: Patrick Reed drops that he hasn’t yet re-signed with LIV Golf for 2026
Reed, 35, made the turn at the Emirates in one over after eight pars and a bogey. His final group playing partner, LIV Golf’s David Puig, managed to reduce the deficit to two shots by the ninth.
Advertisement
“I could sense a little bit while I was out there of trying to protect that lead, rather than just going out and playing,” Reed said.
The final group seemed to break into match-play mode as Reed and Puig pulled away from the field. A turning point came for former Ryder Cup star Reed when he made birdie at the par-5 13th while Puig three-putted for bogey. Recent Australian PGA champion Puig fell to four shots behind when he bogeyed the par-3 15th. With his advantage, Reed was able to lay up from the tee on the drivable par-4 17th and again for his second on the par-5 18th and still coast to victory.
Puig (75) was assessed a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a fairway bunker on the 18th and with a double-bogey 7 he dropped from T-3 to T-7 at seven under.
Reed’s new world ranking puts him in pole position for an invitation to the PGA Championship in May as well as qualification via the top 60 on the OWGR for the U.S. Open and top 50 for the British Open. There are also other pathways into the British Open, including the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, on which he climbed to No. 2.
Advertisement
“It’s always nice to [potentially] lock up the majors,” Reed said, sitting beside the Dubai Desert Classic’s Dallah Trophy. “Any time you go ahead and get a win, it’s special. It means a lot. But to do it earlier in the year like this, to be able to take the momentum going into the year [is rewarding].”
2258089464
Andrew Redington
Reed, whose best world ranking was No. 6 in 2020, said his game was trending back toward the form that saw him win the 2018 Masters, as well as two World Golf Championships events and a FedEx Cup playoff leg.
“[With the] little amount of events that I’ve played, to be in the top 30 is something that it shows that my golf game still where I want it to be,” Reed said, referring to the fact LIV Golf does not receive OWGR points.
Advertisement
“I definitely I feel like any time I’m playing any event I play in, I have a chance to win the golf tournament. Now, where does that put me in the World Ranking system? Who really knows.
“Hopefully this springboards me this year to have a really solid year. Because I felt like last year was a close year. It just took me a while to get the win [at LIV Golf Dallas].”
Reed also owns four top 10s at Augusta National since 2020, including last year when he was in contention on the Sunday back nine only to three-putt the par-5 13th and finish T-3 behind McIlroy.
“But now knocking off [a victory] in January, hopefully can carry that on throughout the year and make some noise,” Reed said.
Read the full article here
