Shenzen, China: BMW Masters winner Peter Hanson says he is considering playing at next week’s Singapore Open to put further pressure on Rory McIlroy in their duel to top the Race to Dubai rankings.
Hanson beat McIlroy by a stroke at Shanghai on Sunday to move from seventh to second on the Race to Dubai money list. The Swede is now €812,573 ($1,049,840 or Dh3,852,358) behind McIlroy with two confirmed events remaining - this week’s $7 million HSBC Champions in Shenzhen and the season-ending Dubai World Championship from November 22.
Victory in China would steer Hanson past McIlroy, who is taking the week off to support girlfriend Caroline Wozinacki at the WTA season-ending tennis event in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Hanson wants to give himself every opportunity to deny McIlroy the European No. 1 title and his now considering joining the 23-year old Northern Irishman in Singapore.
“Now that I am that much closer to Rory I have to give myself every chance of winning the Race to Dubai,” Hanson said late on Sunday after his Shanghai win.
“I wasn’t going to play the Singapore Open as I was going to have that week off. But I will now sit down with my management team this week and consider whether I should play in Singapore.
“The thing is that playing in Singapore could make the difference finishing my season first on the Race to Dubai.”
