Dubai: After a run of sensational golf that has seen him become the first European to win both the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola and FedExCup, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson will aim to wrap up a magnificent season with victory in both the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and The European Tour’s Race to Dubai.
A three-shot victory over Americans Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth, saw the 37-year-old lift the Tour Championship and with it the FedExCup and a $10 million (Dh37 million) bonus.
Back to his previous career best as world No 4, Stenson has also confirmed he will compete in all four events in the first European Tour Final Series, which offers a prize fund of $30.5 million and culminates in the $8 million DP World Tour Championship to be staged on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 14-17.
In his current form, there is no better golfer on the planet and Stenson is sure to be the top draw when the fifth DP World Tour Championship brings the top 60 players on the European Tour to Dubai.
One man not surprised by the Swede’s return to the top is his coach of 12 years, Pete Cowen.
“If you look at Henrik’s stats, he just doesn’t have a weakness,” said Cowen. “He’s now got a lot more control over what he’s doing and his confidence is sky high. If Henrik gets a sniff of winning a tournament, then he’ll most likely win it. He could have won two Majors already this year but was only beaten by two players who had better final days. Now he’s back at the top, he’s confident and able to handle all the pressure there is. He’s got all the tournaments in the Final Series in his sights and wants to win The Race to Dubai. He also wants to win Majors and be world No 1, and why shouldn’t he be?”
Stenson, like any European Tour player hoping to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship, and earn a chance to compete for The Race to Dubai $3.75 million Bonus Pool, will have to play in two of the three events preceding the finale, presuming they are eligible for all three at the close of entries.
The three tournaments — the $7 million BMW Masters presented by SRE Group and the $8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions (both in Shanghai) and the $7 million Turkish Airlines Open — will see The Race to Dubai converted to a points table with €1 equalling one point.
A 20 per cent ‘points’ bonus will be awarded to any player who competes in the first three events of the Final Series. The bonus will be added to the player’s points total prior to the DP World Tour Championship, improving their chances of winning The Race to Dubai or increasing their share of the Bonus Pool.
Tickets for the four-day DP World Tour Championship are free and can be obtained by registering online at www.DPWTC.com.
