Masters 2026: It sounds like Patrick Reed is itching to for a final-pairing showdown with Rory McIlroy on Sunday
Jared C. Tilton
BREAKING NEWS: A professional golfer wants to be in the final pairing on Masters Sunday. You’re probably thinking “tell us something we don’t know,” so here you go, hot shot.
On Friday night, after Rory McIlroy stretched his 36-hole Masters lead to a record six shots, second-place Patrick Reed was spotted at a mixer for one his of sponsors, VistaJet. Also at the party was Chad Mumm, the Emmy-winning producer of Netflix’s ‘Full Swing’ and the co-founder of the PGA Tour joint venture, Pro Shop. According to Mumm, he eventually asked Reed if he wanted the heat of a potential final round pairing with McIlroy on Sunday, and Reed pretty much said get me in the kitchen.
Both Reed and McIlory are Masters champions, but they are not the same. Not even close. McIlroy has spent much of his career as golf’s golden boy—once the heir apparent to Tiger Woods, now the de-facto mouthpiece of the PGA Tour. Reed has spent much of his as golf’s villain—mocked, derided and eventually forgotten as he took his talents to LIV. Both of these men earned large chunks of their reputations … and both were preceded by them, often unfairly. Now each has a chance to claim their second green jacket with the other standing in the way. If that isn’t a recipe for must-see sports theater, we don’t know what is.
The other necessary piece of context is that Reed is experiencing a career resurgence of sorts. He left LIV this winter to compete on the DP World Tour, and the move seemingly ignited him, as he roared to two wins and is now once again in contention at Augusta National. Gone too are the jeers, at least most of them. You don’t have to squint to see why Reed wants this showdown as much as he does.
With plans to return to the PGA Tour in August, a win over McIlroy at Augusta National would complete his redemption arc. It would be like Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader in the ‘Return of the Jedi’ when Vader’s mask breaks and he remembers he was a good guy all along. Of course, Darth Vader then gets the bejeezus electrocuted out of him by Emperor Palpatine, but the good news for Reed is that there’s no thunderstorms in the forecast on Sunday.
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