Danny Willett became the first Englishman in 20 years to don the famous Green Jacket for winning the Masters Tournament, and in the process moved into the driver’s seat to go one better than last year by topping The Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Two decades after Nick Faldo seized on Greg Norman’s final-round meltdown to win the famous Major for the third and final time, Yorkshireman Willett took advantage of reigning champion Jordan Spieth’s uncharacteristic late collapse.
The American was five shots clear of the field with nine holes to play but his round unravelled when he found the water twice on the par three 12th for a quadruple bogey seven, allowing the steely Willett, who also won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February, to close out a three-stroke victory with a composed five under par 67.
With the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 17-20, open only to the top 60 players in the Race to Dubai, Willett, who won 1,573,839 points for his Augusta triumph to take his season total to 2,740,474, is already assured of his place.
So too is the hugely impressive Lee Westwood, winner of the inaugural Race to Dubai and DP World Tour Championship in 2009, who shot a wonderful closing round of 69 to take a share of second place with Spieth to claim 769,433 Race to Dubai points and move to seventh in the season-long rankings.
It was a memorable final day at Augusta as the European Tour displayed its strength in depth with no fewer than ten of its members finishing inside the top 20. Matthew Fitzpatrick continued to boost his credentials as one of the game’s brightest young stars, the 21 year old matching Willett’s blistering final round of 67 to share seventh place in a group alongside Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen – the result earned both players 272,508 Race to Dubai points.
Reigning Race to Dubai and DP World Tour Champion Rory McIlroy was left with too much to do after a damaging third round of 77, but a closing 70 from the Northern Irishman was enough for a share of tenth place alongside Englishman Justin Rose, with the pair claiming 201,102 points each.
A hole-in-one from Louis Oosthuizen helped the South African join Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a share of 15th place at three over par to claim 153,012 Race to Dubai points.
Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello continued his fine form this season with a closing round of 70 to take a share of 17th place (126,782 Race to Dubai points) at four over par in a group that also included Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.
Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International Dubai Office, said: “It was a fantastic performance by Danny Willett and we’re excited to welcome him back to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship in November. Danny finished runner-up in last year’s Race to Dubai and if he continues to show the form he’s displayed so far this season, he has an excellent chance to go one better this year.
“It was wonderful to see so many European Tour players put in such great performances at the Masters which have boosted their positions in The Race to Dubai and given them a great chance of making the field in the season-ending tournament at Jumeirah Golf Estates.”
Traditionally a total in the region of 550,000 Race to Dubai points has been enough to secure a place in the DP World Tour Championship and with just over seven months to go until the Dubai tournament gets under way, eight players have already passed that mark.
