MADRID — Patrick Reed said he never expected to walk away from the BMW PGA Championship, but a painful combination of injuries forced the 2018 Masters winner to withdraw during the second round at Wentworth Club last month. Reed, who opened with a four-under 68 to contend at the DP World Tour's showcase event, was nine over for nine holes when he bowed out on Friday.
Speaking Wednesday ahead of this week's Spanish Open, his first event since the withdrawal, Reed said it was his first mid-round withdrawal due to injury. "Never saw that coming," Reed said. "It was actually my first time withdrawing during a round of golf due to injury. I mean, I would have rather gone out and shoot a million than actually withdraw." He told the DP World Tour his neck and shoulder were already hurting to start the round before he injured his left hand after hitting off a cart path on the 3rd hole and hitting a tree root on the 9th. On the par-3 10th, he hit his tee shot left of the green and was done. "My hand swelled up," Reed said. "I couldn't even hit a normal flop shot and couldn't hit a normal iron shot on the next hole. And at that point, because I was unable to actually make a normal golf swing, I thought the best thing was to go in."
Reed said he feared he had broken his hand, but tests near his home in Texas revealed "a shoulder issue." He missed two tournaments on the DP World Tour while recovering, yet he remains the season-long points leader on the circuit where he has played since leaving LIV Golf in January. The top 10 in the points race receive 2027 PGA Tour cards. "It might be uncomfortable," Reed said, "but at the same time, I'm able to kind of perform and do what I'm supposed to do and that's swing the golf club. So no excuses. Go out there and continue grinding and hopefully finish off the year strong."
Asked about managing the emotions of the week at Wentworth, Reed pointed to the venue and his form. "It was hard, especially at that place," he said. "I mean, at Wentworth, it's such an amazing event. The turnout's awesome. And I've played some really good golf there at that event." He added he was in form and hitting the ball great before the unfortunate Friday, calling it one of the ups and downs to deal with throughout the year. Reed said he took off last week on doctor's orders to give himself an extra week of recovery and now feels healthy enough to compete. "I feel like I'm healthy enough to come back out here and play and compete. And the game still feels pretty solid."