Patrick Reed Faces Cut Scare As Rory McIlroy Surges In India

Patrick Reed's pursuit of the Race to Dubai title took an unexpected turn Friday at the DP World India Championship, where the American found himself fighting just to survive the cut while his closest competitors made moves up the leaderboard.

Reed, who entered the tournament leading the DP World Tour's season-long standings, bounced back from a disappointing opening round with a three-under 69 at Delhi Golf Club.

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Unfortunately, that only brought him back to even par through 36 holes, leaving him squarely on the projected cut line.

And now he gets to wait.

With approximately half the field still needing to complete the second round when darkness suspended play Friday, Reed's weekend fate remains undecided.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra weren't wasting their opportunities.

McIlroy, sitting third in the Race to Dubai standings, delivered an immediate statement with a 10-foot eagle putt on his opening hole Friday.

The Northern Irishman played four holes before darkness intervened, climbing to four-under for the tournament.

Chacarra, Reed's closest challenger in the season-long points race, was even better positioned.

Following an opening-round 67, the Spaniard birdied his first and third holes Friday to reach seven-under through five holes of his second round.

That's potentially troubling news for Reed, whose advantage in the Race to Dubai could come under pressure if he misses the cut while his rivals contend for the championship.

At the top of the tournament leaderboard, Angel Hidalgo, Adrian Meronk and Joost Luiten shared the clubhouse lead at eight-under 136.

Hidalgo and Luiten each posted consecutive rounds of 68, while Meronk followed his opening 67 with a 69.

Thomas Detry also reached eight-under but hadn't completed his second round when play stopped.

New Zealand's Daniel Hillier delivered Friday's lowest completed round, firing an eight-under 64 to climb to six-under overall, just two strokes behind the leaders.

The tournament's scheduling problems began Thursday when thunderstorms caused a nearly five-hour interruption, forcing numerous competitors to complete their opening rounds Friday.

That backlog created another headache for tournament officials as fading daylight prevented the second round from finishing.

Play is scheduled to resume Saturday at 6:45 a.m. local time.

For McIlroy, the situation presents an opportunity to make up valuable ground in the Race to Dubai.

For Chacarra, it's another chance to challenge Reed's position atop the standings.

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But for Reed, the immediate objective is considerably simpler.

Before he can worry about winning the season-long title, he needs to make sure he's still playing golf this weekend.

Follow Timm Hamm on X at @IndyCarTim.

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