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European Tour: Race to Dubai has a New Number One

By Matt Coles

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 13: Bernd Wiesberger of Austria plays his tee shot on 15th hole during Day Four of the Italian Open at Olgiata Golf Club on October 13, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 13: Bernd Wiesberger of Austria plays his tee shot on 15th hole during Day Four of the Italian Open at Olgiata Golf Club on October 13, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images) /
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After a second Rolex Series victory of the European Tour season, Bernd Wiesberger has moved back to the top of the 2018-19 Race to Dubai standings.

It was victory number three of the European Tour season for Wiesberger. The Austrian already tasted success at the Made in Denmark and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, his other Rolex Series win in 2019.

The Austrian now has seven European Tour victories to his name, and he becomes the first man to reach the 4,000 point threshold in this year’s Race to Dubai.

He has a 300 point lead over Mutuactivos Open de Espana and Dubai Duty Free Irish Open winner Jon Rahm, who also finished in a tie for 2nd at the Andalucia Masters, along with three top tens in majors and WGC events this year.

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British Open champion Shane Lowry is a further 360 points back at 3rd place. His maiden major title followed up a victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex Series event of the campaign.

It remains an English trio next, but after his fourth runner-up finish of the season, Matthew Fitzpatrick is now in 4th, with Matt Wallace and Tommy Fleetwood following.

The Yorkshireman has now finished 2nd at the Hong Kong Open, BMW International Open, Scandinavian Masters and this week’s Italian Open.

Wallace, who is now 5th on the RTD list, finished in a tie for 3rd at the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black and has also had top-three finishes at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Betfred British Masters, BMW International Open and the KLM Open.

Fleetwood earned over 1000 Race to Dubai points for his 2nd-place finish at the British Open in July, and also has top-ten finishes at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Betfred British Masters, Omega European Masters, and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has moved up into the top ten, with Erik van Rooyen, Danny Willett, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout also inside the same mark.

MacIntyre is enjoying a breakout season on the European Tour, thanks to a T6 finish at the British Open at Royal Portrush. He now sits 7th on the RTD leaderboard, just shy of the 2,000 point mark.

The first of two South Africans in the top ten is Erik van Rooyen. He earned his first European Tour victory at the Scandinavian Masters and has also achieved five other top-ten finishes this season, including a T8 result at the PGA Championship.

Danny Willett is the fourth Englishman to sit inside the top ten of the Race to Dubai standings. He currently sits in 8th, with the majority of his points coming from his victory at the BMW PGA Championship. He also finished T6 at the British Open at Portrush.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout sits 10th in the Race to Dubai, despite having taken zero points away from the majors and WGC events. His maiden European Tour victory came at the Andalucia Masters, and he also has five other top-ten finishes, including a 3rd place at the BMW PGA Championship.

There were some big movers this week, thanks to their results at the Italian Open. A 3rd place finish at Olgiata saw Kurt Kitayama move up from 30th to 15th, while Matthias Schwab moved up to 31st.

Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston now sits just outside the top 50 after his top-five finish in Italy, while Shubhankar Sharma (80th) and Ross Fisher (99th) have both moved inside the top 100 in the standings thanks to their results this week.

The next tournament on the European Tour is the Open de France, which takes place at the 2018 Ryder Cup course, Le Golf National, and it begins on Thursday.

Race To Dubai Standings:

  • 1 (+2): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) – 4,198.2
  • 2 (-1): Jon Rahm (ESP) – 3,898.3
  • 3 (-1): Shane Lowry (IRL) – 3,535.4
  • 4 (+2): Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) – 2,865.9
  • 5 (-1): Matt Wallace (ENG) – 2,569.4

Next. PGA Tour: Monday thoughts from the Houston Open. dark

Remaining Events and Points Available:

  • Oct 17-20: Open de France – 2,750
  • Oct 24-27: Portugal Masters – 2,750
  • Oct 31-Nov 3: WGC-HSBC Champions – 9,000
  • Nov 7-10: Turkish Airlines Open – 9,000 (Rolex)
  • Nov 14-17: Nedbank Golf Challenge – 10,000 (Rolex)
  • Nov 21-24: DP World Tour Championship – 12,000 (Rolex, Finale)
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