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At the start line…The Race is on!
15 November 2009
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So now we know. The field for The Race to Dubai has been finalised and 60 players will compete for the Dubai World Championship over the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates with the crown of Europe’s Number One on the line.
Going into the 51st and last event in the Race, which began just over a year ago in Shanghai and enters the final furlong this week in Dubai, four players can capture the inaugural Race to Dubai honours.
Leading the way, at the tender age of 20, is Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, whose runner-up finish behind Gregory Bourdy in the UBS Hong Kong Open enabled him to vault over Lee Westwood of England at the top of The Race to Dubai.
With Westwood – the Number One going into Hong Kong – finishing tied 54th in that event, McIlroy’s €186,190 has taken him €128,173 ahead of his ISM stable mate, and knocked several possible contenders out of the Race.
Only McIlroy, Westwood, Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher of England can take the title, as Paul Casey was compelled to withdraw at the weekend without hitting a shot in anger due to a recurrence of his long-standing rib injury.
Quite simply, it all comes down to this: if McIlroy, Westwood or Kaymer can land the Dubai World Championship next Sunday, they cannot be caught by any of their challengers for the coveted position as Europe’s ‘top dog’.
Should Fisher prevail, the new Volvo World Match Play Champion could be caught by either McIlroy or Westwood if either of that pair finished second while Kaymer would have insufficient points to reach Fisher.
If none of that illustrious quartet wins, then the permutations are endless. Whatever happens, if promises to be a stimulating and thrilling climax to the season in the desert.
McIlroy, who moved within one stroke of Bourdy at Fanling before bogeying the penultimate hole, admitted: “I am a bit disappointed at the moment, but I have the consolation of going back to the top in The Race to Dubai.
“This is where I wanted to be going into the final tournament. I knew if I put in a good performance there was a good chance (of going back to the top). I am now Number One and in pole position, I suppose.”
Westwood, who has battled with McIlroy for several weeks to claim the metaphorical ‘yellow jersey’ as Race leader, commented: “It’s in my hands, regardless. The difference between first and second next week in more than the difference between us, so if I win this week, I win The Race to Dubai.”
Kaymer, working towards full fitness after his lengthy lay-off due to a go-karting accident in August, was one of the group of early arrivals at the stunning Earth course in Dubai today who enjoyed their first taste of the course and facilities on the Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The German realises what he has to do this week, saying: “My goal is to win. Nothing else. If I can achieve that then we will see what happens.”
Among the movers and shakers in Hong Kong and the JBWere Masters in Australia, the biggest winner was unquestionably Frenchman Bourdy. As well as collecting the champion’s cheque for €279,288, Bourdy moved up from 86th place on The Race to Dubai to 47th, to ensuring himself of a starting role in the Dubai World Championship.
