Patrick Reed Suffers a Major Career Setback For the First Time in Seven Years

The year 2022 has been a challenging one for golfer Patrick Reed. Throughout his career, Patrick Reed has faced numerous controversies, whether they be rule violations or public outbursts. This was evident once more at the first round of the 2022 Players Championship, where Reed found himself once again in the spotlight, but not in a positive way. The 31-year-old professional athlete has a history of causing controversies.

The American golfer made a switch to LIV Golf from the PGA tour last year. But the rival of the American Tour has proven to be unlucky for the golfer. Over the last two years, his ranking has been massively dropping. And the start of 2023, dropped his ranking further down to 79.

Patrick Reed is facing his worst-case scenario

Reed has expressed his frustration with his current ranking on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Despite being No. 25 on the OWGR to start the year 2021, Reed has fallen to 56th as of September 2021. Despite his constant efforts, his position had been dropping on the OWGR. The start of 2023 slipped off the OWGR’s top 75 players list.

In the recently updated list, according to a tweet by LIV Golf Latest, the golfer’s position was seen dropping from 75 to 79. Ever since he made a shift into the Saudi-backed Tour, his ranking has been sliding down. It is because the OWGR guidelines do not match the LIV Golf criteria.

Read More: Patrick Reed Suffers Massive Setback for the First Time in 8 Years

According to an article by golf monthly, Patrick believes that the OWGR system is not fair, stating that, “it’s not a true system if you’re not counting all the events and having points for everybody.” Reed argues that if an event meets the criteria to earn OWGR points, it should be awarded to them regardless of the tour it is played on.

Reed is not the only player who has questioned the credibility of the OWGR in relation to LIV Golf, a series backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Graeme McDowell has stated that the word “official” should be removed from the rankings. Phil Mickelson has also expressed his distress with the ranking governing body.

However, the lucrative Tour currently does not meet some of the OWGR guidelines, such as a 54-hole cut and direct access for players to enter events. Despite this, Sports Illustrated has reported that the OWGR board has the ability to award points to a Tour regardless of whether it follows the guidelines.

Even after his best efforts to accumulate as many OWGR points as possible, Patrick is unable to reclaim his position. There are only two ways he can rise up in the ranking. Either LIV Golf follows the guidelines of OWGR or he makes a switch back to the PGA tour.

Reed’s current situation draws attention to the major underlying issue confronting LIV Golf players. The defectors are facing eligibility issues for certain Majors and, hence, are unable to earn OWGR points.

What are your thoughts on Reed’s major setback and the issues that are being faced by the LIV golfers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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