Reed holds on to European Tour card

The European Tour has retained Patrick Reed’s membership for 2017 despite him failing to play in the required number of tournaments.

The 26-year-old American has featured mainly on the PGA Tour in 2016 and neglected to play in the requisite five European Tour events outside of the majors and World Golf Championships.

Reed only managed to tee it up in three, having pulled out of the Turkish Airlines Open over security concerns, while he also failed to line up at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

It resulted in his Race to Dubai money-list points being stripped from him, with Graeme Storm handed a reprieve in terms of retaining his card for next year.

However, because the Texan won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2014 it afforded him a three-year exemption which means he automatically retains his place on the European Tour in 2017.

On hearing the news, Reed, who also helped the USA defeat Europe in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine last month, said: “I love to compete and I take pride in the fact that I have both my PGA Tour card and my European Tour card.

“I am grateful that I will continue to be a part of the European Tour and I value the opportunity to play with the best players in the world, all over the world.”

Tagged European Tour, Patrick Reed