Rory McIlroy spent months chasing Patrick Reed, who carried an 839-point lead into Wentworth and stood between him and his shot at history. But now, an unexpected twist has handed him a priceless opportunity, and he isn’t even shying away from accepting it.
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Reed was forced to withdraw from the $9 million BMW PGA Championship during Friday’s second round after appearing to injure his left wrist.
“Patrick Reed has retired through injury during the second round of the BMW PGA Championship ⚠️❌,” DP World Tour reported on X alongside a video.
It happened while Reed attempted to take a shot from the trees near a root on the ninth hole. After hitting his tee shot on the par-3 10th, the 36-year-old decided he could not continue and withdrew from the event. Video of the incident showed him getting into a cart while shaking and examining his wrist, which appeared to be causing him noticeable discomfort.
This snatches away a precious chance to even collect more points for Reed and McIlroy knows what this means for him.
“Unfortunately he’s pulled out this week, which gives me an opportunity to try to claw back some ground that I lost last week in Ireland,” McIlroy said. “This weekend is a big weekend for me to pick up a few points and make the race even tighter going into these last few weeks.”
However, make no mistake: McIlroy wasn’t celebrating Reed’s misfortune at all. Instead, he handed him his flowers.
“I’m motivated regardless of who it is,” McIlroy said. “Obviously Patrick and I have had quite the battles over years, whether it be Ryder Cup, final round in a major. Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he’s played great all year. I respect him for how he’s went about it, and coming through here, he’s put his head down and done the work, and it’s actually been really good to see.”
For sure, Reed gave McIlroy plenty of reasons to keep looking over his shoulder. After leaving LIV Golf, the American put forth one of his strongest seasons on the DP World Tour, winning twice and adding two runner-up finishes. That consistency is what put him at the top of the Race to Dubai standings. Moreover, Reed also knew how close Rory was.
Earlier this week, Reed acknowledged that McIlroy was “right on my tail.” But he wasn’t exactly planning to make the chase easy. Reed admitted he enjoys competing against the Northern Irishman and said he “definitely wouldn’t mind making him wait one more year” before McIlroy could match Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Race to Dubai titles. Now though, the chase got a whole lot tougher.
Reed entered Wentworth with 3,423.62 points to McIlroy’s 2,583.86, giving him an 839.76-point advantage. But that lead was never completely safe. The BMW PGA Championship offers 8,000 Race to Dubai points, including 1,335 for the winner and 889 for the runner-up. And now, he can’t add any of that.
A second-place finish at Wentworth would be enough for McIlroy to move ahead of Reed in the standings. With seven events remaining on the 2026 DP World Tour schedule, McIlroy has ample opportunity to close the gap further or overtake Reed outright, especially if the wrist injury sidelines Reed from competing or performing at his best in the tournaments still to come. In fact, Rory McIlroy has already put himself in that position.
The Northern Irishman opened with a solid 3-under 69 in the first round. He started on the ninth and rattled off birdies at all four par-5s, reaching 5 under through his first ten holes and briefly taking the outright lead. Erratic driving on the way home proved costly, though, as three bogeys, including one after finding the water on the eighth, sent him tumbling back down the leaderboard. He finished Thursday tied for 19th, three shots behind leaders Aaron Rai and Joakim Lagergren.
For sure, this race is thrilling because they both have plenty of history between them. Their rivalry dates back to their memorable 2016 Ryder Cup singles match at Hazeltine, where the pair traded birdies, eagles, and animated celebrations before Reed won 1-up. Despite the intensity, they exchanged fist bumps afterward.
Their rivalry flared up again at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic. Reed’s lawyer had just served McIlroy with a subpoena tied to the LIV Golf litigation. So when Reed turned around and sent him a New Year’s greeting like nothing happened, McIlroy didn’t respond.
Reed later called him an “immature little child.” McIlroy brushed it off, calling the whole thing a “storm in a teacup,” then went out and won the tournament by a shot.
Now, Rory has already won the Race to Dubai seven times, and another title would tie Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight. Everything depends on Reed’s injury. A quick return keeps the race alive; a longer layoff could give McIlroy even more room to close the gap.