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Rory McIlroy Moves Into Top Five Of Race to Dubai Standings

By Matt Coles

SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 03: Rory McIlroy celebrates after winning at the first play-off hole during the final round of the WGC HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on November 03, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 03: Rory McIlroy celebrates after winning at the first play-off hole during the final round of the WGC HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on November 03, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /
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After his playoff victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China on Sunday, Rory McIlroy has made his way into the top five on the Race to Dubai leaderboard.

Rory McIlroy moved up 28 places on the Race to Dubai list, after becoming the first European player to win three World Golf Championships events.

The four-time major winner won a playoff against Xander Schauffele on Sunday, and despite still being nearly 1,500 points off the top of the leaderboard, McIlroy is arguably the favourite to take the whole prize, especially as he has already won the DP World Tour Championship, the European Tour’s season finale, twice in his career.

He sits in 5th in the current Race to Dubai standings, having also notched five other top-ten finishes, including at both the PGA Championship and the US Open.

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It is still Bernd Wiesberger that leads the way at the top of the Race to Dubai leaderboard, though, with the Austrian being the only man to have broken the 4,000 point threshold in 2019.

Wiesberger has won two Rolex Series events, which has given him over half of his points haul. He has won both the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and the Italian Open.

Along with those two wins, the Austrian took victory at the Made in Denmark Open, and he also finished in joint 2nd at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, another of the Rolex events.

The man that won that week in Lahinch is Spaniard Jon Rahm, who sits in 2nd in the Race to Dubai standings, some 340 points behind the Austrian.

That victory was Rahm’s third Rolex Series title, and along with his win in Ireland, he also won his home crown, the Mutuactivos Open de Espana, retaining the title he had claimed in 2018.

The Spaniard has finished in 2nd at the BMW PGA Championship and the Andalucia Masters, as well as top-ten finishes at both the Masters and the US Open.

British Open champion Shane Lowry maintains his 3rd spot on the Race to Dubai list, with 1,665 of his 3,589.4 points coming from that victory at Royal Portrush.

Along with winning his first major title, the Irishman also claimed victory at the first Rolex Series event of the season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Lowry finished inside the top ten at the PGA Championship, but he is the only man inside the top ten of the Race to Dubai leaderboard to have not featured in the top ten of any other European Tour event in 2019.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is the highest-placed man yet to win in 2019. He sits in 4th, thanks to runner-up results at the Italian Open, Hong Kong Open, BMW International Open and the Scandinavian Masters.

After Rory McIlroy comes Matt Wallace in 6th. He is also yet to win this year after his breakthrough 2018 campaign, but he has accumulated seven top-ten finishes, including a T3 at the PGA Championship, his best finish in a major tournament.

Tommy Fleetwood completes the trio of Englishman in the top ten on the Race to Dubai list, and like his compatriots, he is also yet to taste success. Fleetwood did finish 2nd at the British Open, along with a 4th place finish at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

The first non-European on the list is South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who also moved into the top ten after his 3rd place finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions last week. Like Rahm, he also won his national championship, lifting the South African Open, his only win of the season.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is the breakthrough star of 2019 and is inside the top ten despite only playing one major and one WGC event. The Scot finished 6th at the British Open and also has runner-up results at the Betfred British Masters, Made in Denmark Open and the European Open.

Rounding out the top ten would be South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen, who secured his maiden victory on the European Tour earlier this year at the Scandinavian Masters. He has also finished in the top five at the Qatar Masters, Hassan II Golf Trophy and the D+D Real Czech Masters.

Race To Dubai Standings:

  1.  Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) – 4,240.5
  2.  Jon Rahm (ESP) – 3,898.3
  3.  Shane Lowry (IRL) – 3,589.4
  4.  Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) – 3,135.9
  5.  Rory McIlroy (NIR) – 2,763.5
  6.  Matt Wallace (ENG) – 2,649.1
  7. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) – 2,414.7
  8. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) – 2,357.6
  9. Robert MacIntyre (SCO) – 2,099.3
  10. Erik van Rooyen (RSA) – 2,039.9

Next. Who Will Tiger Woods Pick for the Presidents Cup Roster?. dark

Remaining Events and Points Available:

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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