On Sunday in Dubai, Patrick Reed made it official.
“I’m back,” he said as he accepted a metal PGA Tour card and flashed a wide grin. “It feels good.”
Reed left LIV earlier this year and, facing a one-year ban from the PGA Tour, turned his attention to the DP World Tour, where he hoped to earn one of 10 PGA Tour cards available via the season-long points race.
He took the drama out of that quest in just a few tournaments, winning in Dubai, finishing T2 in Bahrain and winning in Qatar in three consecutive early season events. Add in a T12 at the Masters and a T10 at the PGA Championship and he’d wrapped up his return pre-summertime.
Still, Sunday made it official. Reed finished second among players without full PGA Tour status, which means he’ll be a full-time member once the 2027 season begins in January. Eugenio Chacarra took the top spot — and finished just barely shy of Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai — which means he’ll be in early Signature Events for the 2027 season plus the Players Championship, too.
“I think the biggest thing is just the resilience to come out here and play and compete, and really, making that decision I did, you have one year,” Reed said post-round. “To go out there and start the way I did throughout the year, and really, to have some solid performances throughout the season … Just showed the resilience that I have to be able to come out here and do it, week-in, week-out, and continuously play solid golf.”
This was a particularly meaningful year to earn a Tour card through this pathway; the future of this 10-card system is in limbo with the DP World Tour-PGA Tour alliance up in the air. Things will only get more competitive in 2027 with an influx of ex-LIV pros flooding the zone — including Tyrrell Hatton, who won the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday, finished third in the Race to Dubai but was ineligible for a card due to his LIV season.
Here are the 10 pros who earned cards.
1. Eugenio Chacarra
The 26-year-old Spaniard — who left LIV following the 2024 season — won three times, finished just a whisker shy of the Race to Dubai and sounded somewhat wistful as he mulled leaving the DP World Tour.
“Super excited,” he said. “But I love the DP World Tour. It’s been so much for me and hopefully I can start good over there and come here as much as possible.”
2. Patrick Reed
The 36-year-old American has nine PGA Tour wins and will return in search of a 10th.
“Being closer to home, and being able to have the opportunity to play against the best players in the world week-in and week-out is going to be a blast,” Reed said.
3. Casey Jarvis
The 23-year-old South African did most of his work in his first three starts, going win-win-T2. He cooled off throughout the year but added a T6 at the Open, showing off a game that can travel.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and to achieve that dream this season was amazing,” he said. “Showed me that all the hard work I’ve put in has finally paid off.”
He also said how excited he was to be making the leap alongside…
4. Jayden Schaper
The 26-year-old South African, who has played plenty of golf with Jarvis over the years, mirrored his countryman’s strong start by winning his first two starts of the year, too, setting up a solid-if-unspectacular rest of the season to earn his card.
“Obviously you grow up watching the guys on the PGA Tour — Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, all those guys, that’s where everyone made a name for themselves,” he said. “To get out there and get myself into a few more majors and obviously one I’m looking forward to, the Players Championship.”
5. Daniel Hillier
The 28-year-old New Zealander finished 11th last year, making this year’s result that much sweeter. He said it’ll be a challenge to adjust to PGA Tour courses but he’s looking forward to joining his major-winning countryman Ryan Fox on the big tour.
“It’s been the year of my life,” Hillier said. “Getting married earlier this year, following up winning my home open [in New Zealand, his first career DPWT win], great way to kick off the year. 2026 is going to go down in the history books for me. Not much else to say. It’s been a dream.”
6. Jacob Skov Olesen
The 27-year-old Dane put together a consistent season; now he’ll return to the United States, where his five years of college golf included stints at TCU and Arkansas.
“Get to see my college friends more, and also compete against a lot of guys that are higher in the World Ranking than me,” Olesen said, asked what excited him about the year ahead. “That’s who you want to try and beat. You want to try and beat everyone, but you always want to beat players that are perceived to be better than you, and kind of showcase what you can do.”
7. Oliver Lindell
The Finnish 28-year-old joins Sami Valimaki as the two Fins on Tour; he made his mark with two runner-up finishes throughout the season plus a third-place result at the DP World Tour Championship.
“We made it,” he wrote on Instagram after a birdie-birdie finish secured his spot.
8. Andy Sullivan
The English 39-year-old has never had full-time PGA Tour status but recorded enough high finishes this year — three top-threes — to boost him into this position. The 2016 Ryder Cupper is the second-oldest member of this list, behind only…
9. Bernd Wiesberger
The Austrian 41-year-old is back on the PGA Tour after stints on both LIV Golf and then back on the DP World Tour. He won in China earlier this season and backed that up with several more top-five finishes, including a T5 in Abu Dhabi last week to secure his spot.
10. Joe Dean
The English 32-year-old made plenty of headlines for his part-time gig as supermarket delivery driver; it made him an avatar for the globe-trotting grinders of pro golf. Now, after earning his card on the back of a British Masters victory, he’ll see how he likes the bright lights of the PGA Tour.
