First there was sadness for England’s Graeme Storm but then there was joy but then the Englishman began to wonder though it’s worked out well for the player known as ‘Stormy’.

Storm lost his European Tour card by just Euro 100 but that was before Patrick Reed was stripped of European Tour membership by not contesting five mandatory ‘regular’ Tour events.

So it’s little wonder Storm may have felt uneasy when European Tour CEO, Keith Pelley announced earlier today that Reed had been afforded 2017 Tour membership, even though he had contested just three ‘regular’ European Tour events in season 2016 – the Scottish Open, Olympic Games and the Ryder Cup.

American Patrick Reed
kick starts 2016 with the defence of his Hyundai Tournament of Champions title in Hawaii.

In fact, Pelley said:  “We are delighted to announce that Patrick will return to action on the European Tour for the 2017 season.

“He is one of the game’s most exciting talents, as everyone who witnessed his electrifying performance at this year’s Ryder Cup will testify to, and our fans look forward to seeing him in action again next year.”

Reed was also thrilled with the decision.

“I love to compete and I take pride in the fact that I have both my PGA Tour card and my European Tour card,” Reed said. “I am grateful that I will continue to be a part of the European Tour and I value the opportunity to play with the best players in the world, all over the world.”

So the Tour’s happy.  Patrick Reed is happy and Graeme Storm must surely be happy.