Rory McIlroy’s chasing his next big goal. In his way? Patrick Reed

Rory McIlroy is in India this week.

So is Patrick Reed.

They’re meeting on a new battleground. And with something decidedly different at stake.

We’re now a decade into the McIlroy-Reed rivalry. The two tangled in singles at the 2016 Ryder Cup and in the final group at Augusta National in the 2018 Masters. They chose opposite sides in the LIV Golf-PGA Tour saga. Reed’s lawyer subpoenaed McIlroy on Christmas Eve in 2022. Things got chippy on the driving range in Dubai in 2023. You get the idea; these two won’t soon be going on holiday together.

But they have ended up in New Delhi together this week, each chasing valuable points as the finish line gets closer in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai. It’s a title McIlroy has won four years in a row and seven times overall, which has him just one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s record, which he dearly covets. He’s currently third in the rankings. Reed holds the lead.

Rewind a year or two and this particular battle would have sounded impossible. This event in India didn’t exist. McIlroy had never been to India. And Reed was still teeing it up for the 4Aces, with plans to extend his deal with LIV Golf.

But then things changed. McIlroy threw his support behind the newly formed DP World India Championship, adding it as well as the Australian Open, hunting national opens and new experiences. Reed left LIV and was suspended from the PGA Tour, which left him with an opportunity to play the DP World Tour — and then he started winning. Now he’s hoping to join Collin Morikawa as the only Americans to hoist the massive year-end trophy.

So there they were on Tuesday, even sharing a smile, a handshake and a brief chat during a photo op at Delhi Golf Club.

Each has been complimentary of the other all season. At last month’s BMW PGA Championship, Reed said he relished the opportunity to take on someone of McIlroy’s caliber.

“Any time I get to go play against Rory, it’s always fun because that means you get to play some amazing golf. With his record and just kind of his resumé that he has, he’s a champion. He’s been a champion a ton of times,” he said.

McIlroy added that he needs no extra incentive to go all-in.

“Yeah, look, I’m motivated regardless of who it is,” he said at Wentworth. “Obviously Patrick and I have had quite the battles over years, whether it be Ryder Cup, final round in a major, Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he’s played great all year. I respect him for how he’s went about it, and coming through here, he’s put his head down and done the work, and it’s actually been really good to see.”

They’ll be colleagues again on next year’s PGA Tour; Reed’s suspension is now up, and he’ll earn one of the DP World Tour’s 10 cards for 2027. But Reed’s battle isn’t just with McIlroy; if he can fend off Eugenio Chacarra (currently No. 2 in the standings) and finish the season ahead of every other non-PGA Tour member he’ll earn a spot in the Signature events, too.

That’ll all be settled in a month’s time, when the two take on the DP World Tour playoffs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. But first comes a showdown at one of the more unique settings in competitive golf.

You can see the top five below, or complete Race to Dubai standings here.

1. Patrick Reed – 3423.6 points
2. Eugenio Chacarra – 3257.9 pts
3. Rory McIlroy – 3115.9 pts
4. Casey Jarvis – 2654.0 pts
5. Aaron Rai – 2,408.5 pts

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