Dubai: Rising star Matthew Fitzpatrick climbed from 36th to 12th in the Race to Dubai with victory in the British Masters at the weekend.
The 21-year-old Englishman, who also moved from 111th to 59th in the World Rankings with this win, earned 671,549 Race to Dubai points to total 1,353,190 for the season.
He clinched his maiden European Tour win at 15 under par 269 at Woburn, two strokes clear of Soren Kjeldsen, Shane Lowry and Fabrizio Zanotti.
The Golf in Dubai Ambassador, who was also the youngest player in the field, will now be sure to attract interest when he makes his debut in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 19 to 22.
“This year my goal was to keep my card, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do that after the start of my year,” said the European Tour rookie. “But I managed to start playing well and making more cuts and just picking up cheques, and then in the past two months, I guess, I really got going. I made a lot of money and was able to secure my card in the Race to Dubai, it’s great.”
Paraguay’s Zanotti also booked his place in Dubai’s season finale after claiming 300,464 points for his runner-up finish to move from 81st to 43rd in The Race to Dubai while WGC-Bridgestone Invitational winner Lowry moved from sixth place to fourth and Denmark’s Kjeldsen moved from 13th to ninth.
The top 60 players in The Race to Dubai qualify for November’s prestigious $8 million (Dh29 million) showcase in Dubai with a Race to Dubai Bonus Pool of US$5 million divided between the top 15 players in The Race to Dubai rankings following the conclusion of tournament, as well as an additional $1,365,500 for those players competing in at least three events on the Final Series.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (3,012,000 points) still leads The Race to Dubai with Englishman Danny Willett (2,740,786 points) hot on his heels in the battle to be crowned European Number One.
The DP World Tour Championship gets underway on Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just under two months. General admission is free of charge and can be obtained by registering online at www.DPWorldTourChampionship.com. Those who register will also be placed into a prize draw with the chance to win a VIP Hospitality package for the Championship Chalet.
