Patrick Reed is currently holding a dominant lead at the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The tournament is taking place at Emirates Golf Club, and after round 3 of the event, the tournament leaderboard appears to be tight. Despite this, Reed leads comfortably with a total score of 14 under par. He is 4 shots ahead of the golfer in second place, David Puig, who has a total score of 10 under par.

Interestingly, Patrick Reed’s third round was his best of the tournament campaign so far, as he ended it with a total score of 5 under par. Following this superb round, the golfer said that he felt strangely nervous on the first tee. Reed described his feelings, explaining that he was trying to recall the warm-up rounds and calming himself so that he didn’t mess them up. According to Flushing It Golf’s X post, Reed stated,

“I was a little nervous on the first tee; it was weird. I felt good and everything in warm-ups, and walked right out on the first tee, and then I just thought, don’t mess this up. And I tried to there on the first. But I was able to right the ship early in the round and salvage the front 9 with a couple under and then attach those par fives. But swing felt really good mid-way through the front.”

Talking more specifically about Reed’s third round, the golfer began with the front nine holes, where he shot two bogeys and four birdies. Reed began to find balance in his game throughout the back nine holes, where he recorded three birdies and finished with a total score of 5 under par. The golfer also discussed this performance in another interview, claiming to pick rhythm between holes.

Patrick Reed explains how he was not settled in during the early holes in round 3

Patrick Reed made a big bogey on the first hole of Round 3. Despite this, the golfer made a good recovery, shooting two straight birdies on holes 2 and 3. Following the round, Reed admitted that while he made these two birdies, he was still figuring out his swing and wasn’t quite settled on the course. According to Asap Sports, the golfer stated,

“Obviously, at the end, it was definitely solid and good score at the end. There early in the round, just didn’t really settle out. Even after the birdies on 2 and 3, it was just kind of one of those things that the swing didn’t feel a hundred percent, but I was missing it where I need to and just relying on my putter to work.”

Following this, Patrick Reed claimed that on Hole 7, things began to click for him and that he was able to use his solid swing and rhythm in the next few holes, especially the Par-5 ones, to improve his score.

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