Love him or hate him, Patrick Reed looks like he’s trying to work his way back to the PGA Tour.
We’ve already seen the door crack open for big names after LIV, especially once Brooks Koepka started teeing it up in PGA Tour events again.
From where I sit, Koepka’s résumé made the return path smoother. The Tour can create lanes when a player’s track record forces the conversation.
Reed does not have that exact lane. Instead he’s taking a harder route, play the DP World Tour, stack results, and earn his way back the long way.
The route Reed picked, and why it matters
The idea is simple. Reed plays the DP World Tour, finishes high enough on the season long points list, and gets himself back into the PGA Tour picture through performance.
If you want a quick refresher on the broader backdrop, including how the LIV era changed player movement and pressure on the tours, this breakdown of what LIV Golf is and why it changed everything lays out the big pieces clearly.
Now here’s the part that gets everybody talking. Reed has come out flying. In his first three events on that tour, he’s won two and finished second in the other. That’s a statement start, and it also puts a target on his back early.
Reed has never been quiet. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he tends to walk like he already won. When he stacks finishes, that confidence can look like momentum. When he struggles, it can look like friction.
That personality is part of why this comeback angle works. People tune in because they want one of two outcomes. They want Reed to prove everyone wrong, or they want the wheels to come off. Either way, it becomes a story.
If you want a clean snapshot of where his game is right now, including what he’s playing in the bag, Patrick Reed’s WITB gives you the details without the noise.
The Rory factor, and the old rivalry that never really left
Before Reed can punch a ticket back, he still has to survive a full season. That matters because the DP World Tour season has one giant reality check, Rory McIlroy.
Rory has owned that stage in recent years, and he brings a different kind of pressure. He doesn’t just beat you with talent, he beats you by making you feel every mistake for four straight days.
Then there’s the history. Reed and Rory have had real tension on the course, and fans remember the Ryder Cup moments because they felt personal. If you want the quick context on how messy Ryder Cup energy can get, and where those flashpoints sit in the bigger story, this ranking of the Ryder Cup’s most controversial moments includes the chapters that still get brought up.
What I’m watching as a coach
Forget the headlines for a second. If Reed wants this to hold up for a full season, a few things have to stay true.
- Emotional control: Reed feeds off friction. That can help. It can also drain him when the season gets long.
- Driver discipline: Winning early feels great. The DP World Tour will still demand positional golf when the pressure ramps up.
- Scoring clubs: If the wedges and short irons stay sharp, he can keep living near the top of leaderboards.
- Patience: The top 10 chase becomes a grind. One bad month can erase a hot start fast.
So can he keep it up
That’s the only question that matters right now. Reed has started hot, but there’s a lot of golf left, and the competition gets heavier as the season tightens.
If he keeps winning, the conversation gets unavoidable. If he cools off, the storyline flips into, here we go again.
What do you think, can Reed keep this pace long enough to earn his way back, or does the season catch up to him. Let me know in the comments.
Clint is PGA-certified and was a Head Teaching Professional at one of Toronto's busiest golf academies. He was also featured on Canada's National Golf TV program, "Score Golf Canada," twice. He graduated with a degree in Golf Management from the College of the Desert in California and studied under Callaway's co-founder, Tony Manzoni. He has a handicap index of 6.2 and spends the winters near Oaxaca, Mexico, where he plays twice a month at the Club de Golf Vista Hermosa. He's written over 100 articles at GolfSpan since 2021. You can connect with Clint at LinkedIn, FB, his website, or Clintcpga@gmail.com.
