Patrick Reed is one of the hottest players in the game. In the last three weeks he’s lost to zero players in regulation on the DP World Tour, has two victories and a second-place tie via a playoff loss.
Reed’s lastest victory came Sunday at the Qatar Masters where the former Masters champion made two early bogeys to lose the lead, then rebounded with three birdies on the back nine to shoot 70 and win by two shots. He collected a 16-under total for the week, two ahead of Scotland’s Calum Hill.
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So that’s a victory at the Dubai Desert Classic against a top field, a loss in a playoff last week at the Bahrain Championship and another victory here in Qatar. Reed is easily atop the DP World Tour Race to Dubai, where the top 10 receive PGA Tour cards at the end of the year. He’s also projected to jump into the top 20 in the World Ranking for the first time since 2021 and will be eligible to play in all four major championships.
“It wasn’t looking very good there on the front nine,” Reed said. “To lose the lead like that then to be able to flip the switch there on the back nine obviously felt amazing. I love the way the game feels.
“It’s special, especially to get two wins early on in the season. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”
It was on Sunday in Qatar, after the win, that Reed hinted that he had not signed his LIV Golf contract for this year. He made it sound as if it was close to happening, but three days later announced that he would not re-sign for this year and his plan was to seek PGA Tour reinstatement and hope to earn status via the DP World Tour. Two weeks later he’s on top by a wide margin over Jayden Schaper and well on his way to earning PGA Tour status.
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This week Reed led wire to wire and was only tied after an opening-round 65. He held a two-shot lead entering the final round at Doha Golf Club. Bogeys at Nos. 2 and 6 dropped him from the lead—Finland’s Oliver Lindell made six birdies in eight holes to pass him—but birdies at 10, 11 and 14 steadied the ship and allowed Reed to hold on for the victory. The 10th hole is a par 5, he made a 17-footer for birdie on 11 and followed it by making a birdie putt from 12 feet on the 14th.
“You’d rather be in the lead than hunting and chasing,” Reed said about his place in the season-long standings. “We’re off to a fast start.”
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