Augusta, Georgia – Patrick Reed was so drawn to the cold putts during the Masters that he might not have considered where his third place could lead.
He rose to No. 49 in the world rankings, which at least secured a place in the PGA Championship next month. The PGA Championship gave him another chance to score a ranking score that he couldn’t get with Liv Golf.
The PGA Championship will be held at Quail Hollow from May 15-18, the last week of the U.S. Open exemption from the top 60 in the world. Reed doesn’t need much, because its minimum divisor in the formula is 40.
Reed did not arrive at the U.S. Open last year, ending his 41 consecutive professional winning streak.
The Open Champion entered the top 50 at the May 18 deadline, although Reed already qualifies as one of the three main players in the Asian Tour International Series as part of the qualifying series.
Reed now has four top 10 in five games he competed outside Liv Golf this year. He tied for 10th in Dubai and tied for eighth on the European Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah. He is the runner-up in Macau and finished third in the Masters.
Reed ended on the 128th last year.
This was a strong end in the Masters, although he was not satisfied from the first round. Few players evaluate their performance more bluntly. Reed opens at 71.
“Peeing is bad, it’s very simple,” Reed said after Thursday’s round. “Watch it well, missed the wrong position and threw it like a blind man.”
When he finished with a 279-low 99, he didn’t change his tune, two shots in the playoffs.
“Puts killed me, I killed me this week,” Reed said Sunday. “I really lost my chance to win the green jacket because of the putt.”
Reed will stop for LIV golf in Mexico City (April 25-27) and South Korea (May 2-4) before winning the PGA Championship.
