Dubai: British Open champion Francesco Molinari and England’s defending champion Tommy Fleetwood will go head to head at the DP World Tour Championship (DPWTC) this week in the fight to become the European Tour’s season-long Race To Dubai winner.
England’s Lee Westwood claimed victory at the Nedbank Challenge on Sunday his first Rolex Series title and the repercussions in South Africa at the top of the Race to Dubai rankings were that Rory McIlroy, Li Haotong and Lucas Bjerregaard were eliminated going into the season-ending DPWTC at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday to Sunday.
The Race now comes down to leader Molinari, who has a healthy lead over second-placed Fleetwood, who won the title in 2017.
McIlroy finished in a tie for 21st in Sun City with a final-round 71, Li finished tied for fifth with a 65, and Bjerregaard tied for 11th after also closing with a 65.
McIlroy needed to finish in the top two to stay in contention for the season title while Li and Bjerregaard both needed to win in Sun City.
At the other end of the standings, the Nedbank Challenge tournament was the final chance to qualify for the DPWTC with 60 of the top players in the Race to Dubai Rankings making the trip to the emirate this week.
South Africa’s Darren Fichardt and Englishman Aaron Rai sealed their places after both men jumped into the top 60. Fichardt will be making his third appearance in Dubai after moving from 72nd to 58th in the Rankings while 2017 Challenge Tour graduate Rai will be making his debut at Jumeirah Golf Estates after surging from 75th to 55th with an eighth-place finish.
The win in Sun City catapulted Westwood into the top 20 of the Race To Dubai after rolling back the years to card a stunning final-round 64 to win.
The 45-year-old, who won the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai double at the inaugural event in 2009, entered the final day at the Gary Player Country Club three shots behind Sergio Garcia but came racing out of the blocks with an eagle at the second to move joint-top after the Spaniard dropped a shot on the first. The two men and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen went toe-to-toe in an enthralling final round but Westwood emerged as top dog with five birdies in the final eight holes to seal his first title since the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2014.
With this triumph, the former World No. 1 collects 1,250,000 Race to Dubai points and makes significant strides from 45th to 16th in the Race to Dubai Rankings on 2,099,257 points.
“I’m a bit emotional, to be honest,” said Westwood. “You’re never sure whether you’re going to be able to do it again. Until now my emotions have felt really under control all day which is what I’ve been working hard on. I was just trying to hit fairways and stick to my game-plan and hit it in the right places.
“I’ve got a bit of a process that I’m going through with my golf swing and I’m starting to see better shots. The seven iron into 17 is probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit.”
Race to Dubai rankings
Top 10
1 F Molinari (ITA) 4,709,921
2 T Fleetwood (ENG) 3,684,755
3 J Rose (ENG) 3,431,616
4 P Reed (USA) 3,268,511
5 X Schauffele (USA) 3,092,488
6 R McIlroy (NIR) 2,892,354
7 T Olesen (DEN) 2,877,799
8 A Noren (SWE) 2,833,225
9 H Li (CHN) 2,772,941
10 E Pepperell (ENG) 2,478,435
