Patrick Reed offered early PGA Tour start despite ban

Patrick Reed may be suspended from the PGA Tour until the end of August, but this will not stop him from competing on the circuit in July.

Having walked away from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in 2022, Reed has not featured on the US-based setup since due to his loyalties to the breakaway league.

Late last month though, Reed announced that he would be departing LIV, after opting not to renew his contract ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Reed followed in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka, who left his role as captain of Smash GC at the end of December, before confirming his PGA Tour return a month later via the newly-introduced Returning Member Program.

Reed’s comeback will not be an immediate one, however, having failed to meet the Program’s criteria, which only grants major champions and Players champions from 2022 onwards the chance to return without suspension.

Reed’s one-and-only major win came out of this bracket at the 2018 Masters, meaning he is required to serve a one-year suspension, which will end on August 26 this year.

From there, the American will be able to compete on the PGA Tour via tournament invites before being reinstated as a member for 2027.

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This means his schedule for the majority of this year will be with the DP World Tour, where Reed has remained a member throughout his time with LIV.

His connection to the formerly-known European Tour though does mean he will still be able to play some PGA Tour golf during his suspension period.

This is thanks to the co-sanctioning of the Genesis Scottish Open in July. The event out of The Renaissance Club has become a popular one for players across both tours, taking place the week prior to The Open Championship.

Its position on the schedule and co-sanctioned status means Scotland’s national open always welcomes a strong field, and there is no doubt 2026 will be no different.

One man who is expected to be there is Reed, and despite the suspension handed to him by those at Ponte Vedra Beach, both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have confirmed to bunkered.co.uk that Reed will be able to tee it up in Scotland.

It would be the former 4Aces star’s first PGA Tour start since The Memorial in 2022, before he opted to sign on the dotted line with LIV a week later.

In the weeks following his move to LIV, Reed’s name was then removed from the entry list of the 2022 Scottish Open. Four years on though it is all change for the 35-year-old.

Being able to play the event in North Berwick will only help Reed’s chances of winning this year’s DP World Tour Order of Merit crown.

A full schedule on the Wentworth-based circuit means the American will have a whole host of chances to add to his Race to Dubai points tally, which is already in a strong spot.

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An impressive start to the year has seen Reed win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, before only missing out on the Bahrain Championship crown via a playoff a week later.

This form has continued at the Qatar Masters this week, with the Dallah Trophy winner tied for the lead after 18 holes in Doha.

While Reed will have past champion status on the PGA Tour in 2027, he is almost certain to improve his playing rights by taking one of the ten cards on offer in the US via the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings.

Currently sat on 1,674.70 points already this season, Reed will add to this tally this week, which will move him within touching distance of the usual number needed to earn one of the ten PGA Tour spots.

Reed’s target will not just be finishing in that lucrative top 10 though. His hot start to the year and his full DP World Tour schedule means the former green jacket winner has every chance of becoming Race to Dubai champion.

What makes this even more interesting is he could well be the man to deny Rory McIlroy a record-equalling eighth Harry Vardon Trophy.

The Northern Irishman has clinched his home tour’s year-long crown across the last four years, but he will face tough competition from his old rival Reed this time around.