AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Patrick Reed was so consumed with a putter that went cold during the Masters that he might not have contemplated where his third-place finish could lead.
He moved up to No. 49 in the world ranking, which at the very least assures a spot in the PGA Championship next month. And the PGA Championship gives him another chance to accrue ranking points, something he can't get with LIV Golf.
The PGA Championship, to be played May 15-18 at Quail Hollow, is the final week before the U.S. Open exempts the top 60 in the world. It doesn't take much for Reed to move up because his divisor in the formula is at the minimum 40.
Reed did not make it to the U.S. Open last year, ending his streak of 41 consecutive majors.
The Open Championship takes the top 50 on the same May 18 cutoff, though Reed already is eligible from being among the leading three players in the International Series Macau on the Asian Tour, which was part of the qualifying series.
Reed now has four top 10s in the five tournaments he has played outside LIV Golf this year. He tied for 10th in Dubai and tied for eighth in Ras Al Khaimah on the European Tour. He was a runner-up in Macau and finished third at the Masters.
Reed ended last year at No. 128.
It was a strong finish at the Masters, though he wasn't happy from the opening round. Few players were more blunt assessing their performance. Reed opened with a 71.
"Piss poor, pretty simple," Reed said after his Thursday round. "Hit it fine, missed it in the wrong spots, and putted like a blind man."
He didn't change his tune when he finished at 9-under 279, two shots out of the playoff.
"The putter killed me, killed me this week," Reed said Sunday. "Really lost my opportunity to win a green jacket because of the putter."
Prior to the PGA Championship, Reed will make stops in Mexico City (April 25-27) and South Korea (May 2-4) for LIV Golf events.
