Dubai: Rafael Cabrera-Bello feels the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates owes him a favour after his implosion on the final day at last year’s Race to Dubai season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The 31-year-old Spaniard held a two-shot lead with seven holes remaining only to bogey the 12th and double bogey holes 16 and 17 to finish five strokes off eventual champion Henrik Stenson at tied for ninth.
But speaking at the European Tour’s Performance Institute (ETPI) at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Monday, Cabrera-Bello said he was looking to make amends at this season’s year-ender from November 19-22. “I’m just coming here with extra motivation, because I feel this course owes me a little bit, and I’m coming with big artillery to put myself back in exactly the same position as last year,” said Cabrera-Bello, who is in Dubai training ahead of the Final Series, which starts this weekend with the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya.
“I’ve analysed the choices I made and learned from what I could have done better, but I really didn’t think I had done that much wrong. Golf is just a cruel sport sometimes, other times it’s very rewarding and I’ve had those experiences too,” added the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic champion, who has won twice on the European Tour since turning professional in 2005.
Currently 41st in the Race to Dubai with four events remaining, the European crown may be beyond him but he insists all is still to play for in the last four events.
“My goal is to finish inside the top 30, I’ve got three or four weeks to put myself in that position and earn Ryder Cup and World Ranking points,” said the current World No.108. “I want to try and improve to give myself chances of good things next year.
“I’m not extremely satisfied or dissatisfied with this season,” he added of his four top 10 finishes from 24 events, the best being a second place finish at Austria’s Lyoness Open in June.
“I had a slow start that I wasn’t proud of but the most positive aspect is how many times I’ve put myself in contention and been leading after two rounds, which is something I’ve not done often enough before.
“In a lot of tournaments on the last day I’ve had great chances to win but I haven’t got that win yet, but I’ll be looking for it over the next few weeks. Overall it was an average year, I wouldn’t give it an A grade, maybe a C, but I can turn it into an A plus if I have a good month now and that’s what I’m looking for.”