Patrick Reed sets sights on route into The Open after LIV’s world ranking woes

Patrick Reed will be hoping he can secure a spot at next month’s Open Championship when making his DP World Tour return at the Italian Open this week.

Having fallen down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) since joining the LIV Golf setup, Reed has lost the chance to compete at the final major championship of the year at Royal Troon. He does however have the chance to secure a last-minute Open spot this week by teeing it up in Italy.

Two spots in this year’s Open Championship will be available in Italy, with the top two performers at the Adriatic Golf Club Cervia not already qualified for the trip to Scotland last month receiving the exemption.

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Reed is one of a number of stars not yet in The Open field, having opted to tee it up in his first DP World Tour event since last year’s Dubai Desert Classic. The former Masters champion is eligible to compete in this week’s event due to paying off the fines and serving the suspensions from the Wentworth-based circuit for competing in LIV events.

The American is a long-time supporter of the European circuit, having competed in a number of events during his professional playing career. Amid his loyalties to LIV, his most recent came in January 2022 in Dubai, where he played out an epic battle with Rory McIlroy.

The week was initially marred by ‘tee-gate’ between Reed and McIlroy in the build-up to the event, after Reed flicked a tee-peg in the direction of the Northern Irishman who appeared to ignore his LIV rival. The event ended with the pair going neck-and-neck at the top of the leaderboard, with McIlroy eventually prevailing.

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Reed’s will of course be hoping to be crowned Italian Open champion and earn a spot back into the majors this week, having missed his first flagship event in 11 years at this month’s U.S. Open. Reed had initially entered final qualifying to compete in his home Open, but later opted to withdraw.

The former world No. 6 now finds himself outside the top 100 players in the ranking list, and pointed the finger at OWGR’s lack of LIV inclusion as the reasoning behind the end of his impressive major run. “I feel like the world ranking is not a reflection of where I should be and what events I should be in,” Reed commented at LIV Houston.

“But at the end of the day, I don’t make those decisions. It’s their call on special exemptions. They’re the ones that make those decisions and I just have to live with it, just continue doing what I do and play golf.” Reed’s best finish at an Open Championship came in 2019, where he finished 10th at Royal Portrush, 11 shots behind champion, Shane Lowry.