Declined LIV renewal in January, focused on DP World Tour

Finishes third in Race to Dubai, earns 2027 season membership

Jon Rahm, DeChambeau among LIV holdouts facing uncertain futures

Patrick Reed of the United States plays his second shot on the second hole during the first round of the DP World Tour Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links Golf Course in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Thursday. Reed left LIV Golf to compete on the DP World Tour and secured full PGA Tour membership for the 2027 season. [Getty Images]
Patrick Reed of the United States plays his second shot on the second hole during the first round of the DP World Tour Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links Golf Course in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Thursday. Reed left LIV Golf to compete on the DP World Tour and secured full PGA Tour membership for the 2027 season. [Getty Images]

Patrick Reed, 36, made the right call. As LIV Golf — the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit — moves toward liquidation, the American has secured full PGA Tour membership for the 2027 season, vindicating his decision to walk away from the league before its collapse.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Reed, after declining to renew his LIV Golf contract and refocusing on the DP World Tour, has locked up a stable path back to the PGA Tour next year.

Reed tees off Thursday in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the tour's season-ending event. He currently sits third in the Race to Dubai standings, earning him a 2027 PGA Tour card as one of the top 10 players in the rankings who do not already hold Tour membership.

Reed's foresight proved decisive. He charted his own route back before LIV Golf unraveled. The 2018 Masters Tournament champion decided in January not to extend his LIV Golf contract — at a time when the league was still flush with backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Rather than re-sign with LIV Golf, Reed chose to compete again on traditional tours. He wasted no time making his mark, winning the DP World Tour Dubai Desert Classic in January. He then finished runner-up at the Bahrain Championship in a playoff before claiming another title at the Qatar Masters.

Those results lifted him into the upper tier of the Race to Dubai standings and put him in position to earn the Tour card he needed for a full PGA Tour return.

"This year has been a very satisfying year," Reed told the AP. "I had to finish in the top 10 to get my PGA Tour card. The fact that I believed in myself and put everything on the line to achieve that goal makes it all the more meaningful."

Reed competed this year as a non-member on the PGA Tour, playing in all four majors — the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open Championship — as well as the Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

His PGA Tour playing restrictions stemming from his LIV Golf participation were also lifted on Aug. 25. With DP World Tour results now delivering him full 2027 membership on top of that, Reed will be able to compete on the PGA Tour on a fully stable footing starting next year.

Patrick Reed of the United States plays his third shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the DP World Tour Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links Golf Course in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Thursday. [Getty Images]
Patrick Reed of the United States plays his third shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the DP World Tour Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links Golf Course in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Thursday. [Getty Images]

Those who stayed with LIV Golf face a far murkier outlook. The league was plunged into crisis in April when PIF announced it would stop funding the circuit. Despite pouring more than $5 billion into the venture since its 2022 launch, LIV Golf failed to build a sustainable business model.

The league filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court in September, and at a New Jersey bankruptcy court hearing Thursday it abandoned its "LIV 2.0" restructuring plan and said it would proceed with asset liquidation instead.

LIV Golf's collapse has drawn attention to the futures of marquee players who remained with the circuit, including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson.

A return to the PGA Tour, however, is far from straightforward. Brooks Koepka came back through a special reinstatement program earlier this year, but the same terms are not guaranteed to other players.

The PGA Tour is not expected to decide on reinstatement pathways for other players until LIV Golf's bankruptcy proceedings conclude. With those proceedings potentially stretching into January, the uncertainty facing the remaining LIV players could linger for months.

Reed is a nine-time PGA Tour winner and a veteran of the circuit. He has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, but his two DP World Tour victories this year demonstrated that he remains a competitive force.


yjc@heraldcorp.com