The Road to Oman Rankings will be decided at next week’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, with the top 15 earning European Tour cards for 2016.
There is still everything to play for in Muscat, but two players already quietly confident of reaching the big time next season have already had a taste of life in The Race to Dubai in the past.
Gary Boyd
A close friend of one Ian Poulter, Boyd has long been regarded as one of the best ball-strikers out there and after a long struggle with his game the Englishman is looking back to his irresistible best this season.
The Woburn player finished 50thin The Race to Dubai in his rookie European Tour season back in 2010 and came agonisingly close to a victory on the top tier that year, only missing out courtesy of defeat in a three-way play-off which included Irishman Peter Lawrie and eventual winner Peter Hansen.
Later that year, he led the Castello Masters in Spain by two shots going into the final round, but a closing 74 meant Italian Matteo Manassero trumped him and Boyd ended up settling for a share of third place.
A respectable 78thplace finish in The 2011 Race to Dubai followed but when he lost his card at the end of 2012, Boyd’s career seemed to hit a downward curve that reached a trough last season, when he made just two cuts in ten Challenge Tour appearances.
The proof that form is temporary and class is permanent came this year, however, as the 29 year old, armed with an improved swing and a newfound confidence following plenty of advice from the likes of Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson.
Playing on an invite at the Swiss Challenge in June, Boyd almost doubled his Challenge Tour title haul but lost out to Daniel Im in a play-off. That result, however, buoyed the Woburn player to much bigger things, including coming through Final Qualifying to tee up in The Open Championship at St Andrews.
Five top five finishes this season on the Challenge Tour – including at the EMC Challenge Open, where he closed with four birdies on his birthday to finish runner-up – have virtually secured his return to the big time.
Watch out for this man’s sweet striking and enviable ability next week in Oman and next year on The European Tour.
Rhys Davies
After a truly incredible amateur career, the Welshman was regarded as one of the hottest up and coming properties in golf, also spoken of as potentially one of the game’s great putters.
He duly justified the hype as he made an instant impact on his rookie season on the European Challenge Tour, taking two victories en route to graduation in 2008, before continuing that winning form on The European Tour the follow year.
His maiden victory came at the Trophée Hassan II in 2010, when he overcame Louis Oosthuizen among others down the stretch to prove that he had a winning mentality to match his undoubted talent.
Davies hit a difficult patch though in 2012 and has since struggled to produce the kind of form which took him to a career-high 18th position in The Race to Dubai.
He never lost faith, however, and the 30 year old has been back to his winning best with a victory at the Turkish Airlines Challenge followed closely by a fourth career victory on Europe’s top developmental tour at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España (see highlights above).
He arrives in Oman for a third successive Challenge Tour Grand Final and, while they have marked a frustrating end to the season on previous occasions, this time Davies arrives safe in the knowledge that he will be making a return to where he belongs next year.
Who knows, he could make another swift transition to winning ways on The European Tour next year.
