Genworth Stats Pack - Preview Report

Henrik Stenson has competed in this event three times before (with a best of 7th last year) and he arrives with a €213,468 lead on the Race to Dubai, having showed steady improvement in each of the first three Final Series events. Looking at his Genworth Statistics over the period, the 37 year old Swedish golfer has progressed up to the superb tee to green performance in Turkey last week, where he ranked 1st for Driving Accuracy, 8th for Driving Distance, 16th for Greens in Regulation and 1st for Par 5’s in 2 (hitting ten of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation). With the Jumeirah Golf Estates suiting his game, the current world number three has every chance of holding off the competition to lift the Race to Dubai trophy come Sunday.

Justin Rose has competed in this event twice before (with a best of 2nd last year) and he arrives with finishes of 5th and 3rd from his two Final Series starts, sitting within striking distance of Stenson (€213,468 behind). Looking at his Genworth Statistics over the period, the 33 year old English golfer has been imperious from tee to green, hitting 82/108 fairways and 119/144 Greens in Regulation for the eight rounds played (the best in both categories out of all the players). He has also knocked it on a quarter of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation two shots as well - all leading to an overall Stroke Average of 67.50. The question is can the current world number five take the DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP DUBAI and snatch the Race to Dubai from Stenson on the very last day of the season?

Graeme McDowell has competed in this event four times before (with a best of 11th in 2011) and he arrives having not lost too much ground to Stenson on the Race to Dubai as a result of being absent in Turkey last week (now €321,800 behind). Looking at his Genworth Statistics over The Final Series, we can see the 34 year old golfer from Northern Ireland performed extremely well in the WGC China event, ranking 2nd for Greens in Regulation as well as 1st for Scrambles, which enabled him to drop the fewest shots out of all the players that week (just three bogeys). If the nine-time European Tour winner can reproduce that level of consistency over the Jumeirah Golf Estates then he may lift the big one at the finish.

Ian Poulter has competed in this event four times before (with a best of 2nd in 2010) and he arrives with very lucrative finishes of 15th, 2nd and 5th from his three Final Series starts (beginning this week €343,906 behind Stenson). Looking at his Genworth Statistics over the period, the 37 year old English golfer has increased his Greens in Regulation figures each week and his performance on the Par 5 holes has been excellent (both in terms of hitting them in sub-regulation and overall Par 5 Scoring). We should also highlight that in Turkey last week, the twelve-time European Tour winner dropped the fewest shots out of all the players (just three bogeys in total).

Jamie Donaldson has competed in this event four times before (with a best of 9th last year) and he arrives off the back of an incredible 2nd place finish last week in Turkey. Looking at his Genworth Statistics over the Final Series, the 38 year old Welsh golfer has been steady from tee to green and at times putted very well, but his Scrambles is interestingly yet to rise above 50% (this type of pattern is often produced by a few too many short-sided chip shots, as a result of an aggressive strategy). Most impressive of all, Jamie is 32 under par for the 52 Par 5 holes played over the three events, and he begins the week €592,036 behind Stenson on the Race to Dubai.

Gonzalo Fdez-Castaño has competed in this event four times before (with a best of 9th last year) and he arrives having sat out and rested last week following his 7th European Tour victory in China at the first of the Final Series events. Looking at his Genworth Statistics for the period, the 33 year old Spanish golfer was virtually untouchable during the first week (there were literally no weaknesses). But whilst his straight driving continued into week two, perhaps a little fatigue set into the rest of his game after all that adrenaline and excitement. Gonzalo will surely be fresh and ready to go once again this week as he attempts to close the €819,733 gap to Stenson.

Thongchai Jaidee has competed in this event three times before (with a best of 7th last year) and he arrives having enjoyed a brilliant 2nd place finish behind Fdez-Castaño in the first of The Final Series events in China. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 44 year old golfer from Thailand ranked very high in numerous categories during that first week, including 14th for Driving Accuracy, 4th for Greens in Regulation and 11th for Putts per GIR (that combination suggests some accurate approach play). Note that in Turkey last week, the five-time European Tour winner also seemed to have his eye in on the greens and he ranked 2nd for Par 3 Scoring with a 2.70 average. Thongchai begins the week €914,448 behind Stenson.

Richard Sterne has competed in this event twice before with a best of 42nd in 2009, so he is yet to produce his best golf over the Jumeirah Golf Estates. He also arrives with finishes of 31st / 39th / 36th for the first three Final Series events, so his golf seems steady without firing on all cylinders. A big finish may be due for the talented six-time European Tour winner though, who currently sits €922,049 behind Stenson on the Race to Dubai.

Victor Dubuisson is relatively inexperienced around the Jumeirah Golf Estates, having competed in the DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP DUBAI only once before (last year when he finished 36th), but he arrives having secured his first European Tour victory last week in Turkey. Looking at his Genworth Statistics for the win, the 23 year old French talent ranked 4th for Greens in Regulation, 2nd for Scrambles, 4th for Par 4 Scoring and 2nd for Par 5 Scoring, plus he accumulated the most birdies (28 alongside Donaldson). All should serve him well this week as long as the adrenaline, excitement and celebrations have not taken it out of him. Victor begins the week €935,125 behind Stenson on the Race to Dubai.