Big-hitting Alvaro Quiros occupies pole position in The Race to Dubai for the first time in his career following a superb Desert Swing in which the Spaniard earned €558,376 and captured his fifth European Tour title.
The run of events in the Middle East, which this year increased from three to four with the addition of the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain, gives players the chance to establish an early foothold in the year-long competition and Quiros has made a magnificent start to the third edition of The Race to Dubai.
He finished tied 23rd on his first outing of the campaign in Abu Dhabi before two consecutive top ten finishes in Bahrain and Qatar, where he finished tied eighth and runner up respectively.
The 28 year old then rounded off his Desert Swing by winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, sealing the first prize of €301,353 to replace South African Charl Schwartzel at the Race to Dubai summit.
Quiros, who has also moved up to a career high 21st on the Official World Golf Ranking, will now be hoping to be in the same position when The European Tour next visits Dubai for the season-ending Dubai World Championship: presented by DP World.
He has managed to improve his end of season standing in each of his five full years on The European Tour, finishing 14th, and therefore inside the Top 15 bonus pool, on The 2010 Race to Dubai.
Schwartzel, winner of the Joburg Open, is the nearest rival to Quiros, having earned €419,926 so far this season, followed by the three other champions from Desert Swing.
US PGA Champion Martin Kaymer, of Germany, has made a strong start to his defence of The Race to Dubai crown, successful retaining the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship to occupy third position in this year’s Race.
In fourth in Denmark’s Thomas Björn following his victory in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy and Englishman Paul Casey completes the top five after winning the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions.
Benefitting from strong performances in last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic were South African pair Thomas Aiken and James Kingston, who finished tied seventh and tied second respectively to move up to sixth and seventh on The Race to Dubai.
The focus now moves on to India and the second edition of the Avantha Masters, before heading to the United States for the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, which could prove extremely lucrative for a European Tour Member if they can succeed Ian Poulter as champion.
