Although it may not carry the same weight as the PGA Tour’s FedEx Championship, the Race to Dubai is a prize that any player on the DP World Tour wants to win. The ultimate prize on offer to those with European Tour affiliations, the Race to Dubai is the culmination of 44 tournaments that take place across 24 different countries.
Ever since its inception in 2009, some of the biggest names in golf have been able to call themselves the Race to Dubai Champion and with the FedEx Championships now having drawn to a close, this is the time where the Race to Dubai really comes into its own. Concluding in November, and with some of the biggest tournaments on the Race to Dubai schedule still to come there are several players who will hope to end the season as the best player in Europe.
Let’s take a look at five of the leading contenders.
Rory McIlroy
No other player in the game has enjoyed as much Race to Dubai success as Rory McIlroy, a five time champion, the Northern Irishman has won the race in each of the last two seasons and will be looking to become the first man in history to win three consecutive Race to Dubai titles.
Despite the frustrations of missing out on FedEx glory and being unable to match the accolades of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, in Europe it is McIlroy who is king and he will be looking to reclaim his crown once again.
He finds himself in a strong position due to his fantastic start to the season. A winner of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, he was also a narrow runner up at the Dubai Invitational and runner up at the U.S Open. Set to play in the Irish Open and the season ending world playoffs that will be held back in the Middle East in November, McIlroy will hope to end his season with a flourish and be crowned the Race to Dubai champion once again
Thriston Lawrence
Having played over double the events of McIlroy and currently finding themselves in second place in the Race to Dubai standings is the South African Thriston Lawrence. Although Lawrence may be a name unknown to most, Lawrence almost pulled off one of the upsets of the year when finishing 4th at the 2024 Open.
By far his best major showing, Lawrence was able to back up that effort with a strong second place finish at the British Masters. Splitting his time between the Sunshine Tour back in his native South Africa and the DP World Tour, Lawrence has won nine professional tournaments so certainly knows where the finishing line is.
Although he may not have expected to find himself as Rory McIlroy’s nearest challenger at this stage of the season, Lawrence won’t let the four time major winner have things all his own way and will try to push McIlroy all the way to the line.
Robert MacIntyre
Currently sitting fifth in the Race to Dubai standings is Robert MacIntyre. It’s been a magnificent twelve months for the man from Oban, a winner of his first ever PGA Tour title in Canada, he was then able to achieve a lifelong dream when winning the Scottish Open in front of a rapturous home crowd.
Having spent the majority of the season out in America, MacIntyre has already spoken about how much he is looking forward to being back in Europe and the popular Scot will be looking for even more success on home soil when he tees it up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Always regarded as an exceptionally talented player, this has been the year for MacIntyre to announce himself as a serial winner. Seemingly a man now completely comfortable on all of the game’s biggest stages, he will want to underline a brilliant season with the biggest win of his career.
Ludvig Aberg
It could be heavily argued that no man has enjoyed such a meteoric rise to the top of the game as Ludvig Aberg. Having been potentially touted as Aberg dominated the American college scene, the super laid-back Swede has taken to life in the professional game like a duck to water and has risen to five in the world rankings.
Despite giving the impression that he has been a mainstay on Tour for years, it's easy to forget that this is Aberg’s first full season on Tour and this is all new.
Whilst he will be pleased with some of his performances, the biggest tournaments on either side of the Atlantic have eluded him and he will want to sign off his season with one of the game’s best prizes.
Currently sitting in eighth in the Race to Dubai standings, Aberg will need to play well when he tees it up over the European autumn. Many have predicted that Aberg will win many prestigious titles in his career and he will want to get started sooner rather than later.
Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood currently rounds out the top ten of the Race to Dubai standings and has plenty of work to do if he is to end the year as Europe’s top player.
Despite his popularity all over the world, Fleetwood is garnering a reputation for being unable to win the biggest tournaments. Despite being a veteran of the PGA Tour, a win in America still escapes him and for a man with his shot making capabilities that is a record that he will want to change quickly.
In terms of the European season it got off to the best of starts when the Englishman edged out Rory McIlroy to lift the Dubai Invitational crown. Having just competed at the Tour Championships Fleetwood is giving the European Open a miss but should be teeing it up at the Irish Open and Alfred Dunhill Championships.
Race to Dubai top ten
As things currently stand this is how the top ten of the Race to Dubai currently looks.
- Rory McIlroy
- Thriston Lawrence
- Jesper Svensson
- Adam Scott
- Robert MacIntyre
- Niklas Norgaard
- Sebastian Soderberg
- Ludvig Aberg
- Rikuya Hoshino
- Tommy Fleetwood
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
