The U.S. Open next week will see all the top stars from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. But Patrick Reed would not be in the field. The 33-year-old was scheduled to play the U.S. Open qualifier at Dallas Athletic Club but withdrew at the last moment. With that, Reed broke his 11-year-long streak of participating in every major since the 2014 Masters.

Now a few days after his withdrawal from the qualifier and about to start the first round at the LIV Golf Houston, the 3-time major winner shared why he missed the event and what might make his major participation effortless. It is nothing but being ranked on the OWGR.

Patrick Reed says he might be in the top 15 in the world 

All of the 54 players on the breakaway circuit do not receive any work ranking points from the Official World Golf Rankings system. Thus, LIV pros are destined to drop in world rankings despite their top finishes in LIV Golf events, such is the case with Patrick Reed too. Reed won the 2017 Masters and acquired a lifetime exemption to play at Augusta National. But his exemption for three other majors ended last year.

Nonetheless, per the last 11 performances, which included four top 10s and eight top 25s since the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic, Reed was given a special exemption into the 106th PGA Championship. Now he will miss the U.S. Open and being 100th on OWGR doesn’t help his case either. Reed also shed light on what might have helped him qualify for the majors. LIV Golf reported that the 33-year-old said, “If those events would carry over into a normal season throughout, there’d be no doubt I’d be in the majors.”

Making his displeasure known, Reed said he believed that “The world ranking is not a reflection of where I should be and what events I should be in.” Exasperated with the lack of OWGR points and major qualifications, Reed added that he had to live with it and “just continue doing what I do and play golf”.

It seemed that the 2017 Masters winner was fine with his decision to not play the U.S. Open qualifier. However, this decision did not come organically, as fate pushed Reed to withdraw his name from the field at the Dallas Athletic Club.

Why did Patrick Reed miss the U.S. Open qualifier? 

Patrick Reed received the special invite for the PGA Championship but initially was not expecting it. That’s why he locked in May 20th to play the U.S. Open qualifier as it coincided with the LIV Golf mid-season break and was closer to his house. However, just a few days later, he received the exemption and even made the cut at Valhalla to be 53rd.

Notably, the PGA Championship concluded on May 19th, and Reed, with his round happening in the late afternoon, would have to take a flight for an early tee time in Dallas. This would have made things really hectic for the golfer and this is why he decided to pull out. He explained his mindset at that moment and said, “It was my best option … it wasn’t feasible… It wasn’t meant to be.”

Additionally, Reed explained that the transfer window to change the qualifier date had already passed, so he could not do that either. The 3-time major winner was not expecting special treatment and sufficed with breaking a decade long streak. Even after the U.S. Open, Patrick Reed’s qualification for the British Open at Royal Troon remains uncertain.