Race to Dubai: Top-ranked golfer McIlroy returns to action
Northern Irishman faces stiff competition in DP World Tour event starting today
DUBAI:
World number one Rory McIlroy may have already won the Race to Dubai crown, but there is a lot at stake this week at the $8million DP World Tour Championship, which starts at the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates on Wednesday.
The top 60 players on the European Tour's year-long Race to Dubai standings have qualified for the season-ending tournament, including the four Europeans in the top 10 of the world rankings — McIlroy, number four Henrik Stenson, number six Sergio Garcia and number seven Justin Rose.
McIlroy, who has won two majors among his four titles this year, is leading the Race to Dubai by 2,726,514 points, which means his position on top is insurmountable with only 1,666,600 points on offer to the winner this week.
While that assured him of the lion's share of the bonus pool based on ranking ($1.25 million out of $5million), there is a chance for someone among the 59 other players to win the tournament and walk away with a cheque of $2.13million ($1.33million for the winner of the tournament and an $800,000 bonus for finishing second in the Race to Dubai) on Sunday evening.
Stenson is the defending champion, having won both the tournament and the Race to Dubai last year. The Swede has sweet memories from last year, when he put together a masterclass of ball striking, hitting 68 out of 72 greens in regulation and winning the title by six shots with a four-day tally of 25-under par.
"I haven't successfully defended the title as yet in my career, so I couldn't think of a much better place to do it than here this week,” said the 38-year-old, who is yet to win a tournament this year despite consistent display.
Ian Poulter, Stenson's neighbor in Orlando, was also hoping his revival in form would lead to a win on a course where he has already finished runner-up twice.
Poulter, who was ranked 64th in the Race to Dubai a couple of weeks ago and not assured of a place this week, has moved to number 12 with back-to-back top-10 finishes.
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World number one Rory McIlroy may have already won the Race to Dubai crown, but there is a lot at stake this week at the $8million DP World Tour Championship, which starts at the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates on Wednesday.
The top 60 players on the European Tour's year-long Race to Dubai standings have qualified for the season-ending tournament, including the four Europeans in the top 10 of the world rankings — McIlroy, number four Henrik Stenson, number six Sergio Garcia and number seven Justin Rose.
McIlroy, who has won two majors among his four titles this year, is leading the Race to Dubai by 2,726,514 points, which means his position on top is insurmountable with only 1,666,600 points on offer to the winner this week.
While that assured him of the lion's share of the bonus pool based on ranking ($1.25 million out of $5million), there is a chance for someone among the 59 other players to win the tournament and walk away with a cheque of $2.13million ($1.33million for the winner of the tournament and an $800,000 bonus for finishing second in the Race to Dubai) on Sunday evening.
Stenson is the defending champion, having won both the tournament and the Race to Dubai last year. The Swede has sweet memories from last year, when he put together a masterclass of ball striking, hitting 68 out of 72 greens in regulation and winning the title by six shots with a four-day tally of 25-under par.
"I haven't successfully defended the title as yet in my career, so I couldn't think of a much better place to do it than here this week,” said the 38-year-old, who is yet to win a tournament this year despite consistent display.
Ian Poulter, Stenson's neighbor in Orlando, was also hoping his revival in form would lead to a win on a course where he has already finished runner-up twice.
Poulter, who was ranked 64th in the Race to Dubai a couple of weeks ago and not assured of a place this week, has moved to number 12 with back-to-back top-10 finishes.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.