Patrick Reed didn’t have great memories of Le Golf National before competing there again this week at the Open de France. The 32-year-old American went 1-2 during the Ryder Cup when it was held at the Albatross Course outside Paris in 2018, and then became part of a firestorm after the frustrating U.S. loss to Europe when he called out U.S. captain Jim Furyk and teammate Jordan Spieth in a New York Times interview.
Things didn’t turn out much better when Reed returned for the DP World Tour’s annual stop. With rounds of 73-72 for a one-over 145, he missed the cut by three shots.
Worse than not getting vindication, Reed leaves France without the thing he was truly seeking: World Ranking points.
Since signing on to play in the LIV Golf series in June, Reed has seen his World Ranking fall from 36th to 50th. By missing the cut, and thus getting no points for his efforts in France, Reed is guaranteed to fall outside of the top 50 when the new ranking is released on Monday. When that happens, it will be the first time Reed has been ranked out of the top 50 since January 2014 after winning the PGA Tour Humana Challenge, the second of his nine career tour titles.
Reed’s drop, like those of several LIV golfers, comes largely because LIV events don’t offer World Ranking points to participants—something those associated with the nascent Saudi-backed circuit are opening lobbying to change. Last week, 50 players, including Reed, signed a letter to Peter Dawson, chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking, asking him to change LIV’s status immediately and retroactively grant World Ranking points to the first tournaments that LIV has held since its launch in June.
By jumping to LIV Golf, Reed cost himself the chance to compete on the PGA Tour, which offers ranking points; Reed subsequently resigned his membership. He is an honorary lifetime member of the DP World Tour, which is letting LIV members play in its events pending a U.K. court’s decision in February on whether the tour can ban those playing in the rival league.
Reed will get a chance again next week to try and reverse his slide in the rankings; he’s in the field at the DP World Tour’s Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews.