The 13th edition of the DP World Tour Championship is almost upon us and we couldnít be more excited. After the long fallow spell of spectator-less events during the height of the pandemic, in the UAE at least, the green shoots of recovery are well underway.
Last month’s Dubai Moonlight Classic at Emirates Golf Club saw fans return to top flight golf in the region for the first time and when the top 50 stars on the European Tourís Race to Dubai descend upon Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 18-21 to lock swords in the season-finale, theyíll be out in force again to provide the magic ingredient that weíve so sorely missed.
With US$3 million from a bumper US$9 million purse on offer for the winner, and a further $1 million for topping the Race to Dubai, the stakes are high and the quest for supremacy will be as captivating as it gets.
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick comes into the tournament in top form, having secured a three-stroke victory at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. Comfortably sitting in the top 10 in the Race to Dubai Rankings (fifth at the time of going to press), the Englishman will fancy his chances over the Earth course having also triumphed there in 2016.
Jon Rahm poses with the Race to Dubai trophy following his victory of the 2019 DP World Tour Championship Dubai at Jumerirah Golf Estates.
One of the few players capable of usurping Morikawa in the quest for Race to Dubai supremacy is the man who is currently ahead of him in the top spot of the World Ranking, Spain’s Jon Rahm. The Spaniard is a two-time winner over the Earth course (2019, 2017) with his triumph two years ago also seeing him get his hands on the Harry Vardon Trophy for topping the season-rankings. This year has been the standout season of an already glittering career, as the 26 year old got his hands on his first Major at the US Open Torrey Pines and rising to the top of the World Ranking before emerging from Europe’s Ryder Cup mauling in September as one of the shining lights of Padraig Harrington’s team with a 3-1-1- record. Rahm loves the Earth course and the fans in Dubai love him just as much so expect him to be in the fight again this year.
Collin Morikawa reacts as the lid to the Wanamaker Trophy falls off during the presentation after the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
Collin Morikawa has been on an ever-increasing upward trajectory since joining the PGA Tour in 2019. He hit the headlines with his 2020 US PGA Championship victory at Harding Park in San Francisco and he’s barely left them since. A second Major followed this year at The Open at Royal St Georges to add to the World Golf Championships title he scooped at The Concession in February before an unbeaten showing in his
Billy Horschel is one of the stars of the PGA Tour who has ventured further afield this season and been rewarded in fine style. Currently sitting second behind Morikawa in the Race to Dubai, Horschel added to his WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play with a spectacular win at the BMW PGA Championship. Making his debut this year, he’s yet to show his mettle over the Earth course. He’s not the biggest hitter out there but he currently leads the European Tour season rankings in Greens in Regulation and with accurate approach play an absolute must on the Greg Norman designed track, he could find himself quite at home in Dubai.
Standing at 7,675 yards, the Earth course is long and the common conception is that it favours big hitters. But that’s only true to a point. There have certainly been some big hitting past winners – Jon Rahm and Rory McIroy with two victories a piece for example. But accuracy and the ability to hit the ball into the correct areas of the notoriously tricky greens and then putt well are the key attributes needed to conquer Greg Norman’s creation. Matt Fitzpatrick, while no slouch, is not regarded as one of the longest hitters, but he led the driving accuracy and putting stats at Jumeirah Golf Estates last year which proved decisive in his second DP World Tour Championship triumph.
