The 48th and final event is upon us with this week’s DP World Tour Championship – the third consecutive Rolex Series event to conclude the 2017 European Tour season.
As the final of eight Rolex Series events in 2017, the field in Dubai is loaded with talent, headlined by all seven Rolex event winners: Tommy Fleetwood (French Open), Justin Rose (Turkish Open), alongside Jon Rahm (Irish Open), Rafa Cabrera Bello (Scottish Open), Tyrrell Hatton (Italian Open), Alex Noren (BMW PGA), and last week’s winner Branden Grace (Nedbank Challenge).
Those seven headliners will be joined by a pair of Masters champions in Sergio Garcia (2017) and Charl Schwartzel (2011), along with defending DP World Tour champion Matthew Fitzpatrick, and U.S. star Patrick Reed.
In all, the field will include 18 of the top 20 in the Race to Dubai standings and 11 of the world’s top 30 ranked players.
THE SKINNY
Name: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Dates: Nov. 16-19, 2017
Course: Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth Course)
Where: Dubai, UAE
Distance: Par 72 / 7,706 yards
Architect: Greg Norman
Money: $8M Purse, $1.4M Winner’s Share
2016 WINNER: Matthew Fitzpatrick
RACE TO DUBAI
Only Fleetwood, Rose and Garcia have a chance to win the season-long points title, and the accompanying $1 million prize. But with money awarded to the Top 10 RTD finishers, there’s going to be a lot on the line this week at the Earth course.
1 Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 4,235,987
2 Justin Rose (ENG) 3,979,250
3 Sergio Garcia (ESP) 3,184,582
4 Jon Rahm (ESP) 2,898,457
5 Tyrrell Hatton 2,711,524
6 Ross Fisher (ENG) 2,540,992
7 Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 2,400,949
8 Alex Noren (SWE) 2,180,263
9 Branden Grace (RSA) 1,972,696
10 Francesco Molinari (ITA) 1,947,067
HISTORY
The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai annually wraps up the European Tour season, and concludes the Race to Dubai. Here are some historical notes:
- Where: It is contested on the Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Sponsor: The title sponsor is DP World, a shipping company based in Dubai.
- Born: The tournament was first held in 2009 when the Order of Merit was replaced by the Race to Dubai.
- Field: It is contested by the leading 60 players in the Race to Dubai at the start of the tournament.
- Former: It is the replacement for the Volvo Masters, which was a similar event for the leading 60 money winners on the Order of Merit.
- Race to Dubai: The tournament also determines the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool, which goes to the top golfers on the Race to Dubai after the tournament.
- Bonus: The winner of the season-long points race gets a $1m bonus.
THE COURSE
The magnificent Earth course began life as the host venue for the DP World Tour Championship in 2009 and it has not looked back.
A layout that consistently delivers thrilling climaxes to the European Tour’s Race to Dubai each November, Earth has earned a place alongside the Majlis as a ‘must-play’ trophy course in Dubai.
GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE
Round 1: Thu. 3:00 – 8:00 AM
Round 2: Fri. 3:00 – 8:00 AM
Round 3: Sat. 2:30 – 8:00 AM
Round 4: Sun. 2:00 – 8:00 AM
All times EST
2016 WINNER
“Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick holed a nerve-shredding putt at the 18th to win the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai by a single shot.
The 22 year trailed Tyrrell Hatton by one shot as he stood at the 18th tee, but after Hatton carded a bogey at the last, Fitzpatrick calmly slotted in his birdie putt to get to 17 under and secure his third European Tour title.
Hatton was alone in second on 16 under, with Charl Schwartzel another two strokes back in third.”
-European Tour
TOURNAMENT FINAL 2016
1 FITZPATRICK Matthew -17
2 HATTON Tyrrell -16
3 SCHWARTZEL Charl -14
4 COLSAERTS Nicolas -13
4 DUBUISSON Victor -13
4 KJELDSEN Søren -13
4 MOLINARI Francesco -13
4 WIESBERGER Bernd -13
RACE TO DUBAI POINTS 2016
1 Henrik Stenson – 5,289,506
2 Danny Willett – 4,419,190
3 Alex Noren – 3,995,053
4 Tyrrell Hatton – 3,690,027
5 Rory McIlroy – 3,337,141
Credit: European Tour Media, Getty Images, Wikipedia
