Patrick Reed insists there can be "no excuses" as he bids to increase his lead over Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai on his return from injury at the Open de España presented by Madrid.
The American has led the way at the top of the season-long standings since February, after wins at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters either side of a play-off loss at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship as part of the International Swing.
Across his 18 starts in the campaign, the 36-year-old has three further top tens including a runner-up finish at the Amgen Irish Open last month.
His momentum was halted a week later though, when he withdrew at the BMW PGA Championship during his second round through injury and subsequently underwent scans in the United States that revealed there was no damage to his hand but that he had suffered a shoulder issue.
As a result, he pulled out of a scheduled start at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, but he is back teeing it up in Spain ahead of joining fellow Harry Vardon Trophy hopefuls McIlroy, Eugenio Chacarra and Casey Jarvis at the DP World India Championship next week.
"Never saw it coming," said Reed of his withdrawal at the Wentworth Club. "It was actually my first time withdrawing during a round of golf due to injury.
"I would rather have gone out and shoot a million than actually withdraw. My neck and my shoulder was really tight at the start of the day. It wasn't feeling great and the shoulder kind of popped on the first tee.
"And then after hitting off the path on three, but then on nine, I hit a root that I didn't see and my hand swelled up. I couldn't hit a normal flop shot and couldn't hit a normal iron shot in 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.
"When I went in, the hand was all swollen. And because of that, any time they touched it, I mean, it was in a lot of pain. So they thought I might have broken something inside the hand.
"I flew home the next morning, got some tests and everything. Luckily, the hand was OK and actually ended up being a shoulder issue.
"The good thing is it only set me back one week, so I'm able to come back out here and play.
"It might be uncomfortable, but at the same time I'm able to perform and do what I'm supposed to do in swinging the golf club. So no excuses, go out there and continue grinding and hopefully finish off the year strong."
Patrick Reed plays it off the path 👏#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/fIpXZx4nNn
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 18, 2026
Reed has the chance to become only the second American to be crowned European Number One, following Collin Morikawa, who claimed the title in 2021.
While acknowledging it was tough to miss out on the chance to claim valuable Race to Dubai points at the Rolex Series event in England, with nearest rival McIlory more than halving the deficit with a runner-up finish, Reed is feeling confident that he can quickly perform to the consistent high standards that he has displayed across the year.
Joined by fellow Major winners Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson in an elite international field in the Spanish capital this week, he is not looking too far ahead as the DP World Tour Play-Offs near.
Reed, who has confirmed his place for the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next month, said: "I can't wait, but I'm really just really excited to be over here and playing in Spain.
"I really enjoyed it the first two years I played and so hopefully we'll continue the good form and just carry that form into next week as well as into the Play-Offs.
"But the biggest thing is coming out and playing some solid golf right here and carry that momentum [through] because those last two events are not only very important, but you can't fall asleep this week or next week as well."
As with last year, the Open de España is offering an exemption into the Masters for the winner along with a spot at The Open for the leading player not otherwise exempt.
Having tested his game globally, including appearances this year in national opens held in South Africa, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland, Reed is in no doubt about the importance they have in the game and believes that is evident in Major spots being on offer.
"I think it's huge," he said. "It elevates the national opens because any time players see that you can earn a spot in the Masters, into The Open Championship, the field's going to get deeper, field's going to get stronger, which not only helps the DP World Tour, but also helps the events and also helps the area.
"This week is going to be huge for Madrid, not only for the players coming out and playing, but also the economy. More people are going to come to town, more people are going to come support the event because of that. It just helps the area even more.
"So, I feel like because of all the support from the Major Championships in these national opens, what it does is help the economy and everything. So it helps everyone out."
