Patrick Reed Faces Anxious Wait On India Cut With Race To Dubai Lead In Jeopardy

Patrick Reed faces a long and anxious wait to see if he will make the cut at the DP World Tour Championship, which could cost him top spot in the Race To Dubai standings.

Reed has led the Race To Dubai since February but his challenge is faltering down the stretch with Eugenio Chacarra and Rory McIlroy in hot pursuit and both doing well in India.

A five-hour weather delay in New Delhi on Thursday means the tournament is running way behind schedule so although Reed has completed two rounds both Chacarra and McIlroy still have plenty of their second rounds left to play.

And both men could potentially overtake Reed with high finishes at the weekend, setting up what's sure to be a thrilling climax to the Race To Dubai in the play-offs.

Reed did give himself a fighting chance on Friday as he followed up Thursday's disappointing 75 with a second-round 69 to finish on level par through 36 holes - crucially just one shot above the current cut mark.

McIlroy was two under through four holes and four under for the tournament (T17) when Friday's round was halted due to darkness, with Chacarra in fifth place on seven under after just five holes.

Play at Delhi Golf Club was suspended at 6pm local time, with the remainder of the second round resuming at 6.45am on Saturday - meaning Reed will have a long wait to see if he can play the weekend.

He'll also be keeping an eye on where his two rivals finish as they could really eat into his lead or possibly even knock him off top spot in the standings.

Chacarra is in second place and just 165.73 points behind so would need a solo top-six finish in Delhi to go above Reed into the lead, while McIlroy is further behind (307.76pts) in third so would need to come in the top three to overtake the American.

Race To Dubai going down to the wire

Reed is bidding to become just the second American to win the Race To Dubai after Collin Morikawa in 2021, and end McIlroy's run of four straight victories - while the Northern Irishman hopes to equal Colin Montgomerie with an eighth year as European No.1.

Reed looked to have the Race To Dubai all sewn up thanks to those two wins at the start of the season, while a T2 at the Irish Open gave him a nice buffer over McIlroy and the chasing pack.

However, a wrist injury forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship, with McIlroy collecting bumper points by finishing second.

Reed then missed his chance to increase the gap again when he missed the cut at the Open de Espana - where Chacarra defied a fractured toe to finish second to add to a T3 at the Open de France to come flying up on the rails and turn what was a two-horse race into a genuine three-way battle.

So while Reed tries to find his form again after injury he's seen his lead disappear and could even find himself down in third by the end of the tournament.

Whatever happens though, there'll be an almighty battle for the Race To Dubai title when the DP World Tour heads to the Middle East for the two play-off events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with all to play for.

Race To Dubai Standings