Two years ago, Patrick Reed was Monday qualifying his way into starts on the PGA Tour.
On Monday, the 23-year-old cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time. Indeed, a lot can change when you win twice in your last nine starts.
After a record-breaking week at the Humana Challenge, Reed surged from No. 69 to No. 41 in the rankings. Ryan Palmer, the runner-up at PGA West, moved from No. 122 to No. 71.
In the desert, Pablo Larrazabal’s surprising victory over Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi came with a huge rise in the rankings. He jumped all the way from No. 103 to No. 53, all but ensuring that he’ll make his first appearance next month in the WGC-Match Play.
The wild T-2 finish in Abu Dhabi gave Mickelson enough points to leapfrog Justin Rose and return to No. 4 in the world. Lefty is also in the field for this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
McIlroy, however, was unable to make a dent in the rankings because Zach Johnson closed with 62 and finished T-3 at the Humana.
The rest of the top 10: Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Mickelson, Rose, Johnson, McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Jason Day (from No. 11).