AUGUSTA, Ga. – Patrick Reed recalled standing on the practice range on the Saturday of the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and having an a-ha moment of sorts.
“The entire range is full, and then guys just start disappearing, and you’re the last man on that tee box. Then you’re walking to the tee, you’re the last name announced, and you’ve lost the lead because someone is 5 under through 8. All those just, rushes and those scenarios, kind of going back into playing golf that way, where you’re going out there and you’re having the battles between not just yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard,” he recounted. “For me, I wanted that back, I wanted that adrenaline back, and those feelings.”
Patrick Reed on the second hole during a practice round ahead of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
A day later, Reed won the tournament and set in motion plans to reject an offer to continue playing on LIV Golf. Instead, he elected to focus his efforts this season on the DP World Tour in pursuit of finishing top 10 on the Order of Merit to earn a return to the PGA Tour in 2027.
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Reed will spend the remainder of the year as a world traveler. He’s already been to Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and played twice in South Africa. During his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2026 Masters Tournament, he was informed by a media member that he has competed in 22 different countries since 2022.
“You just made me feel really tired telling me how much I’ve traveled,” he said. But Reed should be well-rested. He hasn’t played since the Joburg Open, which ended a month ago, and said he’s enjoyed spending more time at home with his family.
“I have no idea when the last time was I took three or four weeks off before Augusta. It’s been an unbelievable break. I’ve been out there obviously grinding, working on the game, but having the opportunity to take little man over to some golf lessons and then go to St. Louis with my daughter for volleyball tournaments,” he said. “It’s awesome to just be a dad. Go out and do my work early in the morning and come back and pick my kids up from school and have a great time. That’s something that I definitely missed, I felt like, through not just last year, but also early in my career because I was always go, go, go, and focusing on golf 24/7.”
He added: “I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more, yet still at the same time to play against the best guys.”
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Reed is not only rested but in good form. He opened the season with two wins and a T-2 in his first three starts. The 2018 Masters champ, who attended Augusta State University, is making his 13th appearance at Augusta National and is coming off a third-place finish last year. He could be a sneaky pick to add to his major total this week.
“The one Jacket is getting a little lonely,” he said. “Might need one more.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Patrick Reed returns to Masters after defection from LIV Golf
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