Nate Tramdaks, Staff Writer

The ever-polarizing figure that is Patrick Reed is back in the spotlight. Reed announced his departure from LIV Golf back in Jan. 2026 after three and a half years with the tour. Simultaneously, he announced his intention to rejoin the PGA Tour. The 2018 Masters Champion was not granted immediate reinstatement through the Returning Player Program because he did not meet the criteria. 

Unlike Brooks Koepka, fellow LIV defector, Reed will be serving a one-year suspension from the PGA Tour for leaving without proper release back in 2022. Patrick Reed will be spending the 2026 season on the DP World Tour (DPWT) with the intention to secure his PGA Tour card for the 2027 season and beyond. So far, Reed has been killing it; so let’s look at what he has done, the future outlook for his year and what a return to the PGAT means for the Tour and Captain America. 

Patrick Reed is exercising his lifetime member status with DPWT, a status he acquired back in 2019 after winning the 2018 Masters. Reed is taking this route to regain PGAT status because the top 10 DPWT players gain exempt status into the PGAT for the following season, and there is a chance Reed may not qualify outright. 

So far through four tournaments, Reed is head and shoulders above the field. He took home a win in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic where he won by four shots. The next week, he finished T2 in the Bahrain Championship, coming up short in a playoff. Then the week after, Reed capped off a dominant run in the Desert by winning the Qatar Masters by two shots. Heading into the South African Open, Reed is first in the DPWT Race to Dubai Ranking, leading by 400,000 points. His performance is starting to get recognized globally as he is currently ranked 18th in the Official World Golf Ranking, a huge jump from 42nd where he finished in 2025.

Despite having a lifetime member status, Reed is still subject to qualification requirements for DPWT “Back Nine” events which he has already locked up a spot for. Along with these tournament lock-ins, Reed will be playing in the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in July. The Scottish Open is a PGAT co-sanctioned event that Reed is using a loophole to play in despite his suspension. 

Reed will be playing in a PGA event before his suspension expiration in August 2026. Along with the DPWT events, Reed will almost certainly be playing in all four majors. He has lifetime exemption into the Masters and finished third in 2025. He can play in the PGA Championship at Aronimink by either invitation, which is how he played in 2025, or finish top three during the DPWT Asian Swing. He should qualify for the U.S. Open being top 60 in OWGR, and the Open being top 25 in Race to Dubai.

Patrick Reed’s full return to the PGAT in 2027 will be one of the most exciting developments for the sport in recent history. Not only will it spark the return of big names from LIV, but it will provide what the sport is currently missing – drama. Reed has been a controversial golf figure for his entire career, starting all the way back when he got kicked out the University of Georgia. Buried in all the extracurriculars, Reed’s talent can get forgotten. Reed has one of the most aesthetically pleasing swings in golf and is lights out under pressure. Reed will provide an energy that has been missing from the PGAT since LIV came about. When he’s on, and when fans get behind him, he is a fun guy to watch and root for. Going back to the 2016 Ryder Cup and his battle with Rory McIlroy during the Sunday singles at Hazeltine, Patrick Reed can once again be an electrifying presence on the biggest stages in golf.