Former Masters Champion Could Miss First Major in a Decade After Going to LIV

One of the biggest arguments against players leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf has been the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points, which LIV withdrew from consideration on last week. With LIV golfers free-falling down the OWGR list, high-quality players like Patrick Reed are now in jeopardy of not qualifying for major championships.

Qualifying for major championships is the golden standard of consistency in golf, especially with how deep the game has gotten in recent years. With injuries becoming more common in the game as players search for more speed, the active list of consecutive majors played has gotten much less impressive. LIV Golf has added a new wrinkle. With so many strong players not getting consistent OWGR points, we’ve seen players who would likely be qualifying for the majors on the PGA Tour not get to tee it up in the game’s biggest events.

Where Patrick Reed’s Consecutive Majors Streak Could End

Thanks to winning the 2018 Masters Tournament, Reed will never have an issue teeing it up in Augusta. Former Masters champions can play at the tournament for as long as they want, which is why we’ve seen players walk the famous course into their 70s before. Arnold Palmer was 74 when he played the 2004 Masters. But May’s PGA Championship is where Reed will find issues. With no other exemptions and a world ranking of 109, Reed is in trouble for golf’s other three majors in 2024.

His win at the 2018 Masters exempted him for the next five years in every major, but that ran out in 2023. The PGA of America does send out special exemptions. His fellow LIV competitor Joaquin Niemann got one recently, but Niemann won on the DP World Tour late last year and has dominated LIV events to start 2024.

Could Patrick Reed Get an Invite From the PGA?

According to the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson, “None of the majors have a category for leading players from LIV Golf, and there’s no indication that will change. The PGA of America has the largest list of invitations, which for years has included the top 100 (and a little beyond) in the world ranking. It just doesn’t list the top 100 as a category.”

Managing director of championship for the PGA of America Kerry Haigh was asked if there would ever be a LIV points list but didn’t give much of an answer.

“We look at all the lists,” Haigh said according to Ferguson. “We don’t necessarily put a number on it. If players are deserving, hopefully we would invite them.”

The PGA has invited LIV players with unspectacular recent form in the past as well. For example, Paul Casey received an invite to Oak Hill last year but had to withdraw with an injury. But Reed hasn’t done much to warrant consideration. He’s struggled to get in contention much on LIV Golf itself, and he managed only a 7th and 15th on the weaker Asian Tour last year. He’ll play on the Asian Tour in Macau on March 14 before teeing it up on more time on LIV in Miami the week before the Masters.

Reed will likely need to either win in Augusta for automatic qualification or contend and catch some eyes to get an invite from the PGA in the weeks leading up to the tournament at Valhalla Golf Course on May 16.

Who Currently Has the Most Consecutive Majors Played?

With injuries, COVID-19 and LIV Golf presenting themselves in recent years, the active list of consecutive majors played has taken a massive hit. Longevity has often been one of the greatest measures of a player’s career in golf, but it has been getting more rare.

Sergio Garcia held the top mark at 82 in a row before he had to withdraw from the 2020 Masters because of a positive COVID test. Even if that didn’t happen, he failed to qualify for two majors in 2023 after joining LIV. Adam Scott instead holds the top active mark at 89 majors in a row. The Aussie has always stayed in top health and usually schedules his year around preparing for the majors.

It’s a huge drop after Scott. Justin Rose’s streak ended after missing the 2022 Open Championship. Rory McIlroy would be second on the list but missed the 2015 Open Championship to prevent a very long streak.

Jordan Spieth currently holds the second longest streak at 42. He hasn’t missed a major since qualifying for the 2013 U.S. Open.

Right after him is Reed, whose first major was the 2014 Masters. He hasn’t missed a major since with 39 championships played in a row. That mark will hit 40 at the Masters, but he’ll need to do something special to extend it beyond that.

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