Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters are back inside the top ten of the European Tour's Race to Dubai after both men secured top five finishes at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
The 25-year-old Belgian came into the final round of the third World Golf Championships event of the season tied for the lead. However, a one over par 71 in the final round saw Pieters finish in lone fourth, a result which upped his points tally by 358,295 and took him from 12th to ninth in the Race to Dubai. He now has 1,411,835 points so far this season.
Meanwhile, McIlroy capped off a strong week with a closing round of one under par 69. The Northern Irishman’s tied-fifth place finish is enough to move him up one place from 11th to tenth in the rankings and advance his season points tally to 1,371,983.
They’ll both be looking forward to putting on a strong performance in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 16-19.
It was also a productive week for the 27-year-old Dane Thorbjørn Olesen, who finished tied-10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational to jump from 34th to 24th in the rankings and up his season points tally to 777,093.
Scott Hend also took a big step towards securing his place in November’s prestigious season finale. The Australian clinched 131,318 points thanks to a tied tenth place finish as he now leapfrogs from 75th to 52nd in the Race to Dubai rankings. Hend is now only a few strong finishes away from booking his ticket to Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Another man who did his season hopes a world of good at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was Scotland’s Russel Knox. He finished tied for fifth to claim a substantial 227,967 points and move from 146th all the way up to 67th in the Race to Dubai rankings. With a season points tally of 352,498, he too will have a shot at entering the top 60 heading in to the final stretch of the European Tour season.
This week the top players from around the world will be competing in the USPGA Championship, which is the final major this season and the vast amount of points on offer could make a significant difference in the Race to Dubai rankings.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood remains at the head of the Rankings with 3,753,117 points, whilst Spaniard Sergio Garcia is in second with a season-tally of 2,796,719 points and his young compatriot Jon Rahm sits in third spot on 2,743,429.
