Dubai: Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter are all mounting a late charge on the Race to Dubai title at the US$8 million DP World Tour Championship this week, as money-list leader Henrik Stenson battles with injury.
Sixty of the European Tour’s top golfers will tee up for the season-ending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Par 72, 7675 yard, Earth Course from Thursday.
Stenson leads Rose by just over €200,000 after Sunday’s Turkish Airlines Open, but risks being leapfrogged at the last event after being struck down with a niggling wrist injury.
“I’m going to speak to my physio and see what he wants,” said Stenson. “Maybe if I pull out of the pro-am and give it two days of full rest, maybe I can do a light practice session on Wednesday and go.
“It’s obviously going to affect my preparations but it’s been like that for the last three weeks, so I’ve just got to do the best I can.
“Long term I hope I’m not damaging anything that’s going to take longer to get fixed later on.”
Meanwhile, Turkish Open winner Victor Dubuisson and second-placed Jamie Donaldson have also moved into the Race to Dubai’s top ten and could pose a late threat on account of their recent form.
Rose and Poulter finished tied for third and fifth respectively in Antalya to maintain the pressure on Stenson, who managed a tied for seventh finish. Meanwhile, McDowell opted to skip the Turkish Open in order to enter the last event refreshed.
Stenson should be most worried by Rose and Poulter, however. Both finished DP World Tour Championship runners-up to Rory McIlroy and Robert Karlsson in 2012 and 2010 respectively and have an obvious handle over the course. In contrast, McDowell blew a chance to leapfrog Martin Kaymer for the Race to Dubai top spot here in 2010 and admits to struggling with the layout previously.
“The course at Jumeirah Golf Estates is one I’ve slowly crept up on over the last few years and I’m looking forward to getting back there,” said McDowell, who is just over €300,000 behind Stenson. “As long as Henrik doesn’t do anything too special in Turkey, I’ll have a good shot going into Dubai.
“This is what the DP World Tour Championship and The Race to Dubai is all about – having quality players with a chance to win, not only the tournament, but also the money list and The Race to Dubai.”
Poulter, who is almost €350,000 short of Stenson, has spiced up the final showdown in the form of a wager, meanwhile.
If Poulter can catch Stenson, the Swede has agreed to not only pay for a night out with the Englishman, but has also promised to be his waiter for the evening.
“I had a bet with Poulter when he was some way behind and he still wants me to pay for a night out if he catches me,” said Stenson.
“We were having a laugh at Lake Nona in Florida a couple of weeks ago. He said: ‘We have to have a bet, I’m going to chase you down’.
“I’m going to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s a tight race and most likely it’s still going to be an open story in Dubai.
“The bet was a hundred bucks and he got 10-1 so it’s going to be bad for me if he wins.”
Poulter, who was seen lording around Antalya with a towel over his arm while doing his best butler impressions in a bid to rile Stenson, said: “I told him I’m going to chase him down because he was so far in front.
“I like to make these silly things and he said he’d like to take the bet on. I said I need some odds. He gave me 10-1 so I had a little 100 bucks. I also said that if I do manage to pass you we will have a nice night out and he will have to pour my drinks for the evening.
“I think 1,000 bucks isn’t an issue to him but pouring my drinks all night might be a big problem.”
Stenson added: “If he catches me, I can only pour them with my left [hand], so he’s going to have to hold the glass himself. I can’t go full out with my practice. Even if I wanted to hit balls after the round, it’s not going to happen.”
Meanwhile, Rose is exercising more focus in his bid to overtake Stenson having finished second to Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship here last year. Having previously won the 2007 European Tour money list, he is also seeking to do the double.
“I still see Henrik as the man to beat, and to do that you’re going to have to play some good golf.
“It’s going to be exciting going into Dubai. There’s obviously a lot of money at stake here, and, if Henrik was to win [in Turkey], he’d probably be in a very strong spot.
“But the likelihood is that it will all come down to Dubai, which I think is exactly what you want for the final tournament of the year.
“Being European number one is right up there, for sure. I think at this point, it’s now the goal for the year – it would be the icing on the cake.
“Having won the European Tour order of merit, I would say, before I won the US Open this year, that was my career achievement and something that I was very proud of.
“So to have the opportunity to do it for the second time, in the modern era, in the new format, would be great.”
