Race to Dubai: The battle for positions increases ahead of the season run-in

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 02: Tommy Fleetwood of England celebrates a berdie on the 13th green during day four of the HNA Open de France at Le Golf National on

Saturday 21 October 2017 22:50, UK

Following Paul Dunne's maiden European Tour title at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports, we take a look at the implications on the season-long Race to Dubai.

European Tour Race to Dubai standings


Player name	Race to Dubai points
Tommy Fleetwood	3,771,123
Sergio Garcia	2,799,255
Jon Rahm	2,761,857
Rafa Cabrera Bello	2,124,686
Alex Noren	1,986,032
Rory McIlroy	1,822,355
Francesco Molinari	1,669,921
Justin Rose	1,593,950
Ross Fisher	1,485,263
Bernd Wiesberger	1,475,240

The 24-year-old Irishman has jumped to 12th in the standings following his impressive victory where he held off a late charge from Rory McIlroy at Close House.

The next tournament on the tour's schedule will this week see golfers from around the world descend on the Scottish links for the hugely popular Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, live on Sky Sports Golf.

Upper echelons of the Race to Dubai

Tyrrell Hatton, who secured his first European Tour success at St Andrews last year, will be buoyed by his strong showing in north-east England as the 25-year-old aims to make a strong defence of his title after a mixed year.

The Englishman has picked up two top-10 finishes in his last two events to help him nearer to the top 30 in the standings with only six more tournaments ahead of November's season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, which features the top 60 players in the rankings and has a prize fund of $8m.

Among the names to feature this week in the event which is played at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Home of Golf are four-time major winner and former world No 1 McIlroy along with points leader Tommy Fleetwood following the birth of his first child.

McIlroy, targeting a first title of the year, will be competing in his last tournament of the season before concentrating on recovering from a persistent rib injury which has hampered his schedule.

Meanwhile, Fleetwood, 26, has picked up two titles on tour this year in a consistent campaign which has also included two second-place finishes.

Spanish duo Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm will both feature at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters later this month with the final three events of the season concluding the Rolex Series of tournaments.

Garcia, this year's Masters champion, missed out on an opportunity to close the gap to Fleetwood at the British Masters after the Masters champion missed the cut while Rahm has focused on playing on the PGA Tour this year. However, the burgeoning star of European golf did win the Irish Open in July.

"On the bubble"

With time running out before the season comes to a close the battle for positions within the top 60 continues to increase and there are some notable names needing strong finishes.

Shane Lowry, a three-time winner on the European Tour, is 62nd in the standings but enjoyed a seventh-place finish at Close House to provide plenty of encouragement.

Danny Willett, last year's Green Jacket winner, has struggled with injuries and confidence over the past year and will need to rediscover his game if the Englishman, whose best finish this year came back in February at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, is to feature in Dubai.

Andrew 'Beef' Johnston, 109th in the standings, is another player who will struggle to make the grade after the fans' favourite focused on playing on the PGA Tour in the early stages of the year while former Ryder Cup players Graeme McDowell, Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson are all outside the top 100 in the standings.