Nedbank Victory Moves Fleetwood Into 2nd In Race to Dubai

After his playoff victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, England’s Tommy Fleetwood has moved into 2nd place on the Race to Dubai leaderboard.

Tommy Fleetwood won the 2017 Race to Dubai, and after his win at ‘Africa’s Major’, he has put himself in a great position to win a second crown in three years.

The Englishman overcame Marcus Kinhult in the playoff, and he has made the move from 10th to 2nd in the standings, and now sits 720 points behind the leader.

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.

European Tour has a new Race to Dubai leader

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) /

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 now sits in 2rd in the Race to Dubai standings, some 900 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 drops to 4th on the list, with 1,665 of his 3,613.8 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.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is the highest-placed man yet to win in 2019. He sits in 5th, thanks to runner-up results at the Italian Open, Hong Kong Open, BMW International Open, and the Scandinavian Masters. He finished in a tie for 10th this week in South Africa and is within 1,500 points of the top spot.

SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 14: Matthew Fitzpatrick of England plays his second shot on the 2nd hole during day one of the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player at Gary Player Golf Course on November 14, 2019 in Sun City, South Africa. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /

Rory McIlroy drops out the top five and into 6th spot on the leaderboard. He became the first European to win three World Golf Championships events, reaching that mark at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. The Northern Irishman has also notched five other top-ten finishes, including at both the PGA Championship and the US Open.

Matt Wallace is the only man other than Wiesberger to retain his place, and he sits 7th. He is 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.

Turkish Airlines Open winner Tyrrell Hatton drops down to 8th after not featuring in South Africa. His win last week was the second Rolex Series victory of his career, after winning the Italian Open in 2017. Hatton also finished inside the top ten at this year’s British Open Championship.

Louis Oosthuizen moves into the top ten after his T6 finish on home soil this week, his fourth consecutive top 20 finish, which includes the British Open. Oosthuizen won the South African Open at the start fo the season, and has also finished inside the top five at the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The second of the South Africans in the top ten is 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.

Four other men made big strides up the leaderboard after their performances in South Africa this week, including two players who moved into the top 50 to assure their place at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.

After finishing runner-up to Fleetwood following the playoff loss, Marcus Kinhult has moved up 22 places and now sits in 13th, while the 2018 Nedbank Golf Challenge winner Lee Westwood moved from 41st to 31st after finishing in a tie for 6th.

SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 17: Marcus Kinhult lines up his putt on the 16ht green during the fourth round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player at the Gary Player CC on November 17, 2019 in Sun City, South Africa. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /

Both Jason Scrivener and Thomas Detry finished in T3 in Sun City, with the Aussie moving up 24 places to 35th, while Detry now sits in 41st on the RTD list, up 25 places after his best result of the season.

Race To Dubai Standings:

1 (=): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) – 4,802.4

2 (+8): Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) – 4,079.7

3 (-1): Jon Rahm (ESP) – 3,898.3

4 (-1): Shane Lowry (IRL) – 3,613.8

5 (-1): Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) – 3,320.9

6 (-1): Rory McIlroy (NIR) – 2,763.5

7 (=): Matt Wallace (ENG) – 2,747.7

8 (-2): Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) – 2,731.6

9 (+3): Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) – 2,682.6

10 (-2): Erik van Rooyen (RSA) – 2,662.5

Big Movers After the Nedbank Golf Challenge:

13 (+22): Marcus Kinhult (SWE) – 2,451.1

31 (+10): Lee Westwood (ENG) – 1,516.0

35 (+24): Jason Scrivener (AUS) – 1,426.5

41 (+25): Thomas Detry (BEL) – 1,328.4

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Remaining Events and Points Available:

Nov 21-24: DP World Tour Championship (Rolex, FINALE)

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