With only two events left before the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai — the ongoing Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya and next week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa — time is running out for a number of big-name golfers to get among the top 60 players in the Race to Dubai rankings and secure a spot at the season-ending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.

Benjamin Herbert is currently in the 60th and final automatic slot with 569,604 points.

Danny Willett, the winner of 2016’s Green Jacket in Augusta when Justin Spieth blew up gift him the Masters, has suffered since the spotlight was trained on him. He has struggled with injuries and confidence over the past year and announced last week that his season has ended prematurely because of injury.

Here we take a look at who else is sweating over their place in Dubai.

1. Ian Poulter (ENG)

Ranking: 69

Points: 523,527

Easily one of the biggest names in golf in the past decade, due to his Ryder Cup heroics and debatably fashionable outfits on the fairways, Poulter has seen his game fall away in recent times. The former world No. 5 thought he had lost his PGA Tour card after falling to 207 in the world. A clerical error saved him from that ignominy and he seemed to have a new lease of life on the course. An impressive round of 66 this week in Antalya, with five birdies and no bogeys saw him two shots off the lead before Round 2. The outspoken one will be sure to draw the crowds in Dubai, even if it is just to see what trousers he is wearing.

2. Jamie Donaldson (WAL)

Ranking: 99

Points: 392,046

The Ryder Cup hero for Team Europe at Gleneagles in 2014, Donaldson gave himself a huge boost with fourth place at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Portugal last month. The Welshman sunk the winning putt at Gleneagles to ensure that Europe retained the Ryder Cup and is a firm favourite among fans on the Desert Swing. His chances of making it to Jumeirah looked slim and his Tour card was even in doubt before a timely result at Valderrama put him back in the running.

3. Andrew Johnston (ENG)

Ranking: 117

Points: 323,544

One of the most popular players among the galleries, the man known as ‘Beef’ looks unlikely to be heading here after he spent a lot of the earlier part of the season playing in PGA Tour events. Only nine tournaments played on the European Tour and more than 200,000 points in arrears, it would take something special for the 28-year-old to make it. A steady one-under in Turkey on Day 1 means he is not out of the reckoning just yet. The shouts of “Beeeeeeeeef” from the galleries in Jumeriah.

4. Edoardo Molinari (ITA)

Ranking: 68

Points: 528,003

Another former Ryder Cup star, Molinari had to go through Q-School to regain his card for 2017 after a miserable time last season saw him slump down the rankings. While is card looks safe for next season, a place in the top 60 looks to be a tall order, Victory in the Trophee Hassan II in a play-off over Ireland’s Paul Dunne April showed much promise, but performances have tailed off drastically, with only one top 20 place since.

5. Gregory Bourdy (FRA)

Ranking: 59

Points: 573,450

The Frenchman is looking over his shoulder as he sits right on the cut-off line. Bourdy did his chances of securing a spot among the Race to Dubai’s top 60 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates by finishing in a tie for fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. That saw him surge from 90th to 62nd place and he has since crept up to 59th. Stay there and he will make the cut with the tiniest of safety margins.

6. Victor Dubuisson (FRA)

Ranking: 73

Points: 503,738

Dubuisson’s third place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland means a decent result in Turkey or South Africa should his place in next month’s season finale. The huge-hitting Frenchman struggled on Day 1 in Antalya so may need to get his game together or it will all come down to all or nothing at the Nedbank.

7. Robert Rock (ENG)

Ranking: 66

Points: 541,110

The Englishman’s fairly anonymous season looked to be heading to Q-School but he rediscovered his love for the game at the home of golf, finishing joint-ninth in the Scottish Open in July and then taking fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. If he keeps up the form that saw him tied-eighth at Valderrama, which pushed back him into the running, the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship winner should be on the plane to Dubai. soon.

8. Oliver Fisher (ENG)

Ranking: 88

Points: 443,836

He was the youngest Briton to win a tour card and he immediately turned professional in 2006 and was touted as the next big thing. It didn’t really turn out that way. He has been an also-ran since his win at the Czech Open in 2011. Tied-10th at the Irish Open was pretty much the only thing to write home about during a lacklustre 2017 for the Englishman — sixth in the Portugal Masters only mustered minimal points. Top-15 finishes in the Dunhill and at Valderrama have kept him in contention but it will be tight to see if he can belatedly fulfil his potential shown when he won the Czech Masters in 2011.

9. Richard Sterne (RSA)

Ranking: 58

Points: 581,690

Another one teetering on the brink, the South African is in top 60 with no small help of a decent run at the European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland, which bagged him almost 50,000 points in the Race standings. Points have kept coming during the lucrative season-ending events (around 200,000 in the past six) as he has been making cuts but rarely threatening top 10s this season. He would be considered a dark horse if he were to make it to Dubai.

10. Marc Warren (SCO)

Ranking: 54

Points: 638,382

Now here is a man who knows how to leave it late. Three made cuts on the Tour from the start of April until near the end of September, three top 10s and a top 15 in the Italian Open, Dunhill Links, British Master and Portugal Masters means his card and spot in Dubai should be secure, having racked up nearly 500,000 points recently while also finding time to celebrate becoming a dad for the second time. Has a strong Caledonian expat backing in the UAE.

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Race to Dubai Rankings – Top 20

Rank Player Tournaments played Race to Dubai Points

1 T Fleetwood (ENG) 21 4,050,351

2 S Garcia (ESP) 12 3,184,582

3 J Rose (ENG) 10 2,993,754

4 J Rahm (ESP) 12 2,898,457

5 T Hatton (ENG) 18 2,561,237

6 R Fisher (ENG) 21 2,492,831

7 R Cabrera Bello (ESP) 17 2,367,544

8 A Noren (SWE) 18 2,087,155

9 F Molinari (ITA) 11 1,885,390

10 R McIlroy (NIR) 12 1,832,091

11 H Stenson (SWE) 13 1,723,903

12 B Wiesberger (AUT) 23 1,653,959

13 M Fitzpatrick (ENG) 20 1,512,420

14 P Dunne (IRE) 26 1,502,098

15 T Pieters (BEL) 16 1,457,193

16 P Uihlein (USA) 19 1,404,354

17 A Levy (FRA) 21 1,269,927

18 H Li (CHN) 19 1,228,635

19 T Hideto (JPN) 13 1,185,304

20 J Smith (ENG) 28 1,184,948