Patrick Reed is keeping his focus on one shot at a time at the DP World Tour India Championship as he hopes to put some separation between himself and Eugenio Chaccara and Rory McIlory at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.
The American, who claimed the first Rolex Series event of the year at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, has been the man to catch all season after a further victory at the Qatar Masters and four other top tens.
He looked to be in control thanks to a runner-up finish at the Amgen Irish Open, but suffered an unusual injury at the BMW PGA Championship a week later which forced him to withdraw.
Having already put himself in a good position with an opening 68, Reed hit a tree root during the second round and hurt his hand, ending his week in England. As it turned out, that injury was just temporary, but there was a discovery that his shoulder was in need of attention, and Reed was forced to take a couple of weeks off.
“When I hit that root there in Wentworth I walked up to the next shot and it was just kind of a soft flop shot,” Reed explained of his injury. “I couldn't support the club at all. My hand got to the top and felt like I was trying to swing a sledgehammer.
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“And because of that, and when I walked off the course the doctor started touching on my hand and just barely touching it and I was pulling away, like no, you can't. They thought I broke a couple of the bones being little bones in your hand. Obviously that would've been an injury that would've required probably surgery. Wouldn't have been a very good one.
"So when I got home, doing the test and seeing the results and actually seeing the hand was okay and that everything was fine in the hand, it was more shoulder that I had a couple of tears and injuries I had to deal with, it was more of a sense of relief. That was more just rehab and PT and a lot of just kind of gym work and things to get it strong and back so it wouldn't get worse.
"So for me, it was a little bit more unique because of the injury. Thinking the worst to now all of a sudden it ended up being a different issue, where it was just going to be couple weeks off of rehab and things like that rather than surgery.
“Good thing is now I'm past that where I can go out freely and play and swing and not worry about it. For us, we feel like we're ready to go and things are fine.”
The 36-year-old made his return to action in Spain last week but while he missed the cut, Spaniard Chacarra narrowed the gap at the top of the Rankings. The 26-year-old, also a two-time DP World Tour winner this season, fired a final round 66 for a second place finish to leapfrog McIlroy and get to second in the standings.
The Race to Dubai leader, who finished second on the year-long standings in 2018 and third in 2023, currently leads by 165.73 points on 3,423.62 over Chacarra in on 3,257.89. McIlroy, who claimed his sixth Major earlier this year at the Masters, sits 307.76 points behind in third on 3,115.86.
With four events left on this year’s schedule, Reed said it feels great to be in the driver’s seat but he is also aware that with the amount of points on offer, he can’t afford to let his mind think too far ahead.
“You always want to be in this position towards the end of the year to have an opportunity to win," he said. "To be the man on top always feels great. It means a lot, but still a lot of work to be done. With Eugenio and Rory right behind you have to go out and play some solid golf this last stretch, but it's what we dreamed of.
“Obviously know where we stand, but I don't think about it when I'm out there playing. Golf is a mental sport. If you start thinking about things way in advance or things that are really not under your control, that's where the golf game can go the wrong way.
“For me the biggest thing is go out there, play each day, focus on each shot, and try to execute the best I can. If I execute them properly 70% of the time, then usually that would equate to having a chance to win on Sundays. These last three events I'm playing, if I put myself to have an opportunity to win golf tournaments late on Sunday, then hopefully it's enough to take care of itself.
“You know, there is still too many events left to sit there and worry about what Rory and Eugenio are doing. I mean, with how elevated the points are in Abu Dhabi and how elevated they are in Dubai, it's still anyone's game.
“Hopefully we can go out there and play some solid golf this week and try to separate ourselves a little bit more, but at the end of the day it's just about going out there and playing solid golf and allow the clubs hopefully to put yourself in position there late to have a chance to not only win this golf tournament, but hopefully the Race to Dubai at the end of the year."
To put distance between himself the the other two players, who are also in the field this week, Reed will be hoping to impress on his debut around Dehli Golf Club.
Known for its short but demanding layout, it's a challenge he is relishing.
"I've never come around a golf course like this before," he said. "It's one of those that it's completely different than I would expect. I came here, and looking at the yardage and stuff, was like, man, guys are going to shoot nothing. There is going to be so many birdies. It's really short. It's going to be a bunch of wedges. With how narrow the fairways are and how thick the rough is, I mean basically it's reload because it's in the jungle.
"It's one of those golf courses, it's going to be about positioning yourself, and also be patient. When you're hitting an iron off a tee, I mean, I hit two irons on par fives off the tee, and you're hitting there like, all right, you're hitting this to put it in position. You don't have to hit it too hard.
"It's been a lot of fun. You have to be creative around here. It was the first time I ever played two par fives backwards. I hit iron off the tee and three wood to the green. You just sit there and you're like, wait, this is the kind of stuff you do at home when you play your home course. Like when I play my home course it gets so boring playing it over and over again. You almost get too comfortable.
"I'll go out there and play odd clubs only or even clubs or irons only. This one feels like irons only. Iron off the tee then what am I going to do from there going in."
