Ireland's Shane Lowry made the biggest transition in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai this week after his tied-second place finish in the US Open saw him move from 62nd to ninth position in the rankings to secure his spot in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November.
Lowry has two top-10 finishes in the DP World Tour Championship in the four years that he has competed.
Lowry was in fantastic form in the third round, making two birdies over his last four holes to cap a brilliant 65 and take a four-stroke lead into the final round.
However, the 29 year old suffered a torrid round on Sunday as he made seven bogeys and just one birdie en route to a 76 which left him tied for second, three strokes behind eventual winner American Dustin Johnson who finished four under par.
Nevertheless, the result greatly improved Lowry's position in the Race to Dubai rankings as he claimed 660,759 points to take his season-total to 913,843, which guarantees him a place in the season finale in Dubai, open only to the top 60 ranked players.
Spanish veteran Sergio Garcia was in the hunt all the way to the end, getting to as low as three under on the back nine on Sunday afternoon, but three bogeys in a row from the 15th saw him fall to tied-fifth at even par. Despite the disappointing finish, Garcia will be pleased with his Race to Dubai ranking as he moves from 33rd to 14th, with a total 768,420 points for the season and his DP World Tour Championship spot assured.
South Africa's Branden Grace shared fifth place with Garcia, which helped him to rise from eighth up to sixth in the Race to Dubai while Sweden's David Lingmerth catapulted from 79th to 43rd from after finishing 12th in the tournament, claiming 178,399 points in the process.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell broke into the Race to Dubai’s top 60 after finishing tied 18th as the Northern Irishman moved from 78th to 55th in the rankings after clinching 107,260 points.
Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International Dubai Office, said: "This week marks the five month countdown to this year’s DP World Tour Championship with 20 qualifying events left to play. It is exciting to see the field taking shape for the season-ending tournament here in Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
"With one World Golf Championship and two Majors remaining, there’s plenty of Race to Dubai points up for grabs for those that have not already qualified."
General admission to the DP World Tour Championship is free of charge. For more information please visit www.DPWorldTourChampionship.com.
