Thursday 12 November 2015 13:32, UK
Sky Sports Golf pundit Robert Lee reflects on Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy's decision to miss this week's BMW Masters, looks back at Russell Knox's shock WGC victory and predicts who may impress in Shanghai at the penultimate event of the European Tour season.
Rory can't play four weeks in a row as he's still recovering from his ankle problem. He's played in Turkey and at the HSBC last week, so this one had to go, that's just the way the schedule worked out. No matter what the cost, he needs to be 100 per cent for next year.
He got his dispensation to play 12 events on the European Tour this year and that's fine with me. He's the most marketable player on tour, he's doing a massive job with the Irish Open and there's a Ryder Cup fast approaching, so it was a good decision to let him play in the Final Series.
He missed a huge chunk of the summer when he hurt his ankle, and that's allowed Danny Willett to get very close to him in the Race to Dubai standings, and with McIlroy not playing the BMW Masters, Willett could be in the lead by the time we get to Dubai.
Rory had it all wrapped up with a couple of tournaments to spare last year, but this season there's around a dozen players with a mathematical chance of being crowned European No 1. It makes these last two events so much more interesting with what's at stake.
Opportunity Knox
Russell Knox's win proved that anyone can win any event, but can they sustain it? Will Knox go on to win more WGCs and maybe a major? It's tough to call, but he's won a big event against a top-class field.
On any given week, not everyone can be world No 1 or a multi-major winner, but anyone can win.
Russell now has to decide whether to take up European Tour membership which means he would be eligible for the Ryder Cup next year. Is it wrong that only European Tour members can qualify for the European team? Absolutely not.
There's no other way to police it. You have to have a commitment to the tour if you want to play in the Ryder Cup. Russell said himself he wouldn't consider taking a European Tour card until he got into the world's top 50, and he's managed that now.
It's difficult for him because he has been based in America for so long. He went to college over there and has plied his trade on the PGA Tour, and there's nothing wrong with that. But to play in the Ryder Cup, he would have to commit to the European Tour.
Assuming he plays in the WGCs and majors next year, he would only have to find another five events, and I don't think that's too onerous a task. If Russell wants to commit, that's great. If he doesn't, there's a whole bunch of other kids in Europe that want to play.
Sheffield stars
Danny Willett should be relishing being right up there competing with the likes of McIlroy to be European No 1. Danny might have looked at the standings months ago and thought that Rory was out of sight, but that injury has allowed his rivals to close the gap.
"Danny (Willett) should be reveling in the battle, and he needs to be handbrake off this week and see where it takes him."
Matt Fitzpatrick was another to impress last week, finishing in the top 10 in such a strong field. He's been very consistent and to win the British Masters like he did was fantastic. It capped a really great week.
Matt is a very natural player and I hope he never loses that. He makes the game looks so uncomplicated, he sees things very quickly, doesn't muck around and he's unencumbered by bad habits that various players pick up early in their careers.
He's refreshing to watch, and I'm a huge fan of his. It's hard to believe this is his rookie season, and if he gets into the top 15, he gets bonus money, and he's had a great year.
Strong field in Shanghai
Justin Rose is obviously the favourite for the BMW Masters, but it's not as simple as that. There are too many good players in the field. Look at last week - the seventh reserve won the tournament!
Ross Fisher had a good week in Shanghai, and he has a habit of flourishing late in the season. He's had a kind of "under the radar" season, I wasn't sure he had made it into the Final Series, but there he is at 15th in the Race to Dubai rankings.
His tie for third last week was his fifth top-10 of the season, he's made the cut in 17 events and has quietly had a very good year. Ross is just a good consistent player, hits it long off the tee and he's been reading the greens well lately.
An interesting prospect this week is Emiliano Grillo. He won the last Web.com Tour event of the season, and then won his very first event as a member of the PGA Tour last month, beating Kevin Na in a play-off at the Frys.com Open.
He is 59th in the Race to Dubai standings, and only the top 60 make the final event in Dubai, so he's come over to try and stay in that elite top 60 and complete his European Tour season. As a first-time PGA Tour card holder, he's got to play more events to keep his card next year.
He's also planning to play the required number of events on the European Tour and that won't be easy, but he's only 23 and he's ready to rock.
Robert's Sky Bet tip:
My two picks this week are Emiliano Grillo and Bernd Wiesberger. We've already discussed Grillo, and I think Bernd can break through and earn a Ryder Cup place next year. He's one of a number of youngsters who are really prospering on the European Tour.
The Americans might have a bumper crop of young players coming through, but Europe has a quality bunch as well. Next year's Ryder Cup could see two very different teams, and it's refreshing for the game. There's an element of "changing of the guard" on both sides, which would be great for the competition.
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