Patrick Reed walked off Wentworth on Friday, and Rory McIlroy now has a clear opening in the Race to Dubai.
Reed was forced to retire from the BMW PGA Championship with a hand injury midway through the second round. He entered the week as the Race to Dubai leader and had been the man McIlroy needed to chase down. Now, Reed won’t collect another point from this $9 million Rolex Series event.
McIlroy, asked about Reed’s exit, did not celebrate it. “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,” he said. “This weekend is a big weekend for me to pick up a few points and make the race even tighter.”
McIlroy also said Reed’s withdrawal had not changed his motivation, adding that he would have been driven no matter who was leading the standings. He praised Reed’s season, calling him a strong competitor who had played well throughout the year, and said he respected the way Reed had approached the season and put in the work. The comments come despite the history between the two players. Their rivalry goes back to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. Reed beat McIlroy 1-up in their singles match after making a birdie at the 18th hole.
Their relationship became more tense at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy ignored Reed when the American approached him on the driving range. Reed then flicked a tee toward McIlroy. McIlroy later said his reaction was connected to a subpoena that Reed’s lawyer had delivered to his home on Christmas Eve. McIlroy went on to win the tournament and later said the victory felt “sweeter than it should be” because of what had happened.
Reed started the BMW PGA Championship with a 4-under 68 on Thursday, leaving him two shots behind the lead. His second round unraveled immediately: a triple bogey on the first hole, two double bogeys, and a 9-over collapse that left him 5-over for the tournament before he stopped playing at the 10th tee.
Commentators raised the possibility that Reed had injured himself after hitting a root while playing from the trees on the ninth hole. Images from his second shot showed him dropping his club and grimacing. The DP World Tour later confirmed that Reed had withdrawn because of an injury. The tour did not disclose the nature of the injury.
Reed entered the tournament first in the Race to Dubai standings with 3,423.62 points. McIlroy was second with 2,583.86 points. Reed had increased his lead with a runner-up finish at the Irish Open the previous week. McIlroy finished tied for 41st.
Earlier in 2026, Reed won the Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters. He is also in position to earn a PGA Tour card through the DP World Tour’s top 10 in the Race to Dubai standings. The BMW PGA Championship offers 8,000 Race to Dubai points. The winner receives 1,335 points. McIlroy opened with a 3-under 69 on Thursday, making birdies on all four par-5 holes. Seven events remain on the season after this week, with the Race to Dubai title to be decided at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in mid-November.
With Reed no longer playing, McIlroy can gain points without having to finish ahead of him on the leaderboard this week. McIlroy has won the last four Race to Dubai titles (seven in total), one behind Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight. After Reed’s withdrawal, McIlroy said his focus for the rest of the tournament was to gain points and reduce the gap in the standings.