There’s a Rory McIlroy-Patrick Reed battle brewing. Here’s why

There’s a battle brewing between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.

Another battle, that is.

These guys have history. Complex history. Feel-good history and feel-weird history. And they’re about to add to it.

Before we look forward, let’s go back.

There was the wild back-and-forth match at the Hazeltine Ryder Cup, the match that launched the shush and the I-can’t-hear-you and helped elevate the biennial event into the stratosphere.

There was the final group in the 2018 Masters, where McIlroy faltered and Reed prevailed, one man’s best chance at the career grand slam vanishing while the defining moment of his opponent’s career unfolded beside him.

These were good times. Relations seemed great. Game respected game. When Reed found himself at the center of a rules controversy, McIlroy said he’d only ever had “great interactions” with Reed.

“I don’t think it would be a big deal if it wasn’t Patrick Reed. A lot of people within the game, it’s almost like a hobby to sort of kick him when he’s down,” McIlroy said at the time.

It was years later that things went sideways.

Reed left the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022. Later that year he enlisted the services of (now-suspended) lawyer Larry Klayman and sued various media members for the better part of a billions dollars. In a separate lawsuit Klayman also sued the PGA Tour — and in the process served McIlroy with subpoena papers at his home on Christmas Eve. What’s a lawsuit amongst friends, right?!

As it turns out, McIlroy didn’t see things that way. When Reed came over to say hello on a Dubai driving range several weeks later, he received something less than a warm welcome. McIlroy did not say hello back, Reed walked away and tossed a 4Aces tee back in his direction.

A couple charged quotes followed. First this one, from McIlroy:

“I’m living in reality, I don’t know where he’s living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.”

And then this, from Reed:

“He saw me and he decided not to react. It’s unfortunate. But it is one of those things: if you’re going to act like an immature little child then you might as well be treated like one.”

The incident also included one of the most incredulous expressions in the history of incredulous expressions:

All of that brings us back to the present day. Three-plus years later, McIlroy has his Masters, Reed has spurned LIV for a PGA Tour return and we’re likely to get an uneasy reunion between the two at some point. There have been signs of goodwill; McIlroy hasn’t exactly offered to throw Reed a welcome-back party, but he’s now endorsed Reed’s return as “good for the PGA Tour” on multiple occasions.

But Reed hasn’t been immediately reinstated for PGA Tour play; he’ll have to sit until the fall season, once his one-year ban expires. As a result, he’s in a funny limbo between LIV and the PGA Tour, which puts him into a third league: the battleground territory of the DP World Tour.

Once the calendar flipped to 2026, Reed found some special form. He won in Dubai. He lost in a playoff in Bahrain. And just last weekend he won in Qatar. That win-T2-win catapulted him to No. 17 in the world and, interestingly, a clear No. 1 in the DPWT’s Race to Dubai.

That’s important for two reasons. The first is that Reed was only guaranteed partial status on the PGA Tour for upcoming seasons; he was a Past Champion but needed to finish among the DPWT’s top 10 to earn full status for 2027. Now, based on historical data, he’s almost certain to accomplish that.

Which brings us back to the entire point of this preamble.

Reed’s recent play is also important because of what it means for McIlroy. The World No. 2 has won four consecutive Races to Dubai and seven in total — one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s all-time record. Surpassing that record is high on McIlroy’s list of remaining goals, and despite a limited international schedule, he’s made it look relatively breezy.

But Reed’s quarantine season is throwing an extra variable into this year’s equation. While McIlroy is at Pebble Beach this week, beginning his PGA Tour season, Reed will play wherever and whenever he wants on the DPWT. He could stack up points for months without McIlroy in fields alongside him. It’s unclear how much he’ll play — but it’s clear the title is on his mind.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to be an American who wins the Race to Dubai and we’re off to a fast start,” Reed said after his latest win, flashing a characteristic grin.

It’s early yet, of course. The biggest points hauls come at the four major championships, where McIlroy and Reed will go head-to-head. McIlroy will also play the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open, where Reed, too, will be eligible to compete. McIlroy won last year’s Race to Dubai with 5,975 points; Reed currently leads with 2,260. He has a long way to go. But he also has a healthy head start — especially given McIlroy has just 269.

McIlroy won’t need extra motivation when he returns to Augusta National as defending champion. Nor will Reed, whose fire always burns bright. But it’ll be an intriguing subplot as these two tangle at their sport’s biggest events, a decade after their Hazeltine showdown.

It’s only February, but one thing seems certain: In mid-November these two will each be back in Dubai teeing it up at the DP World Tour Championship. There’s no guarantee that either of them will leave with the season-long title, of course.

But there is a guarantee that one of them won’t.