Dubai: No doubt the last season belonged to Henrik Stenson. The 38-year-old Swede not only became the fifth winner of The Race to Dubai — after Rory McIlroy (2012), Luke Donald (2011), Martin Kaymer (2010) and Lee Westwood (2009) — but he also achieved the rare feat of winning both The Race to Dubai and the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in the same season.
A Dubai regular and ambassador for Jumeirah Golf Estates, Stenson enjoyed a consistent 2013 to climb to a career high World No 3 during the season following his two wins in America with his season-ending triumph at the DP World Tour finale.
However, this year the scenario looks quite different. Stenson is without a win on the PGA Tour with his best results being three third-place finishes in the top-10 and another top-25 finish in the 15 tournaments that he has participated in so far this season.
In contrast, McIlroy has had an amazing year.
Though he did not come out all guns blazing in Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph at the Glenagles in summer, the Northern Irishman has enjoyed a dream season to say the least — winning two Majors — The Open Championship and the US PGA Championship, as well as the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the prestigious BMW Championship at Wentworth.
McIlroy might have had his lone blemish of the season during Europe’s eighth triumph in the last ten biennial contests against America for the Ryder Cup. By his own admission, he was was not at his impressive best while losing his opening four-ball match with Sergio Garcia. But the World No 1 posted two points in team play before finishing the tournament with a comprehensive 5 and 4 win over Rickie Fowler in Sunday’s singles.
Going into last week’s Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, no less than three golfers were within range of catching McIlroy. But none of them managed to do any major damage and the world number one found himself celebrating the end of season title too early.
However, the professional that he is, McIlroy is not likely to let the crown distract him from his main task at hand.
“I’m very proud to have won The Race to Dubai again, the second time in three years, and doing it not having to do anything this week I guess is an added bonus. But I’m very proud of how I played throughout the season, a lot of consistent play and obviously I had that fantastic stretch over the summer, which made up the bulk of the season for me, and how many points that I accumulated in The Race to Dubai,” McIlroy said after participating in Tuesday’s customary Pro-Am at the Earth course.
“I am very happy to achieve this, but at the same time, it would be nice to pick up two trophies on Sunday and not just one. I am still very motivated to go out there this week and perform well.”
Should such a thing happen, then it will be the second time around for McIlroy — also a double title winner at the end of 2012. And one thing that is definitely tilted in his favour is that he is far more fresh than most of the field this week.
“Most years it seems like a guy who wins this tournament wins The Race to Dubai as well. It would be nice to cap off the season with another win here. And I feel like I’m probably a little fresher than most of the guys, as well. I think there are a few jaded minds and bodies getting off that plane from Turkey the other night. Hopefully, I can use that to my advantage and put in a good performance this week,” McIlroy said.
Among the foremost challengers is Welshman Jamie Donaldson — currently sitting in third place in The Race to Dubai rankings — who hit the winning shot in stunning fashion, knocking his approach shot on 15 to within inches of the hole to defeat Keegan Bradley 4 and 3 and secure the 14 points Europe needed to retain the Ryder Cup.
One of the highlights is that all of Europe’s winning squad is now set to compete in The European Tour’s season-ending finale. Scotsman Stephen Gallacher who made his Ryder Cup debut at Gleneagles and in doing so fulfilled a life-long dream of competing in the tournament. Gallacher will now be hoping to replicate his form from earlier this season, which saw him become the first man to successfully defend the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the nearby Emirates Golf Course.
Now in its sixth year at the Jumeirah Golf Estates — that had a brand-new clubhouse inaugurated late on Monday — this tournament has grown in strength. “This is an exciting year for this tournament. The stunning clubhouse is the tipping point for the Estate and the golf tournament while being a real positive message for Dubai,” said Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour International, Dubai Office.
“This tournament is right up there with the best in the world. We have the top 60 players here. We had a major television stunt on Monday afternoon featuring Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose where all three re-created the greatest moments of the shots they’ve played in recent years. If that was a great start to the week, then we can hope an exciting finale with a new champion on Sunday. The cream has risen and we’ve had the best five years. Let’s hope it continues to deliver the goods,” he added.
