Two out of three of the European Tour’s concluding Rolex Series events are now are the books and all eyes now fall upon the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. The event will see the season-long Race to Dubai conclude and Bernd Wiesberger is the man to catch.
The top 50 in the standings qualify for Dubai and there was plenty of drama in South Africa this week as players battled for spots. We’ve rounded up some of the biggest and best stories to come out of Sun City, some make better reading than others for those involved.
Race to Dubai: The battle for the title
For a large portion of the final round in South Africa Wiesberger was a serious contender for a win that would have wrapped up the Race to Dubai title prior to the season finale.
Despite carding two bogeys and a double in his last four holes Wiesberger still leads the way thanks to his best season on the European Tour – but he can still be caught by four players.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood are the men still able to pounce but each has their own little permutation in order for that to happen.
In order to win the Race to Dubai…
Fitzpatrick: Win the Tour Championship, Wiesberger finishes solo 5th or worse and Fleetwood finishes worse than 2nd.
Lowry: Win the Tour Championship and Wiesberger finishes worse than 2nd. There is a mathematical possibility that he still can win with a 2nd place finish.
Rahm: Win the Tour Championship and Wiesberger finishes worse than 2nd. There is a mathematical possibility that he still can win with a 2nd place finish.
Fleetwood: Win the Tour Championship and Wiesberger finishes worse than 2nd. There is a mathematical possibility that he still can win with a 2nd or 3rd place finish.
Wiesberger: A top-2 finish wins him the Race to Dubai regardless of competitors performance. Eliminates all but Fleetwood with a top-3 finish.
(Thanks to the 15th Club for help on this one.)
Race to Dubai: Notable ins and outs
Spare a thought for Nacho Elvira who was going along quite nicely at 1-under on the final day of the Nedbank before a triple-bogey 7 at the 72nd hole proved costly.
The Spaniard cut a dejected figure after holing out on the last because not only did it mean his prize cheque was considerably smaller, it also had grave Race to Dubai implications. A par would have seen him comfortably qualify for the season-ender but his final-hole failing meant he only reached 64th in the standings and his season is over.
On a happier note, Jason Scrivener finished in a tie for 3rd and began the week outside of the top 50 in the Race to Dubai standings. The strong finish sees him move up to 35th and qualify for the Tour Championship.
Meanwhile, Thomas Detry entered the week at 66 and needed a birdie at the last to secure his spot in Dubai and he did not disappoint. A tied 3rd sees him move up almost to 41st in the standings – and he can thank one of the luckiest shots ever caught on camera for that.
Alongside the Race to Dubai finale the Rookie of the Year race looks set to produce a thrilling climax.
It seems to be a two-horse race between Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and America’s Kurt Kitayama and both will be vying to take the coveted title in Dubai.
Race to Dubai: The top 50
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Jon Rahm
- Shane Lowry
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Rory McIlroy
- Matt Wallace
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Erik van Rooyen
- Robert MacIntyre
- Kurt Kitayama
- Marcus Kinhult
- Victor Perez
- Benjamin Hebert
- Mathias Schwab
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Danny Willett
- Jorge Campillo
- Paul Waring
- Rafa Cabrera Bello
- Romain Langasque
- Justin Harding
- Ian Poulter
- Sergio Garcia
- Joost Luiten
- Haotong Li
- Francesco Molinari
- Andrea Pavan
- Paul Casey
- Lee Westwood
- Justin Rose
- Patrick Reed
- Henrik Stenson
- Jason Scrivener
- Mike Lorenzo-Vera
- Adri Arnaus
- Richard Sterne
- Tony Finau
- Guido Migliozzi
- Thomas Detry
- Thomas Pieters
- David Lipsky
- Tom Lewis
- Aaron Rai
- Andy Sullivan
- Matthew Southgate
- Mikko Korhonen
- Jordan Smith
- Scott Hend
