The Final Series, the four tournaments that close the Race to Dubai, make their debut today in Shanghai with the BMW Masters, on Lake Mälaren, in China. Matteo Manassero, Francesco and Edoardo Molinari are part of the restricted field of 76 players and compete to accumulate points and move up the standings before the final event in three weeks time in the Emirates.
The European championship, in this final path, looks more and more like its North American "rival" (the FedexCup). In fact, the money list is translated into points and the final tournaments give a greater dowry to the winners, opening the doors to Rory McIlroy's pursuers. It is a very rich epilogue: 30,5 million dollars divided into four tournaments (7 million in the BMW Masters), plus five million dollars in bonuses that will go to the first fifteen of the order of merit. For the Azzurri it is an opportunity not to be missed, given that Francesco and Edoardo Molinari are respectively 26th and 27th in the European rankings, a few steps away from 15th position. Manassero, back from a bad season, is only 50th, but it's never too late to straighten out a bad year.
Unfortunately many big names are missing from the appointment, first among others world number one Rory McIlory (struggling with some physical problems and with a lawsuit against the company that managed his image), who won't be back on the pitch for a few weeks. Also absent were Henrik Stenson, the winner of the Race to Dubai in 2013, currently number three in the standings and Sergio Garcia (number two), who preferred to spend these four days (from today to Sunday) on the Pga Tour tournament.
At the starting tee in Shanghai there are however seven players from the European Ryder Cup team and captain Paul McGinley. These are Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjørn, Victor Dubuisson, Stephen Gallacher, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose. The Spanish Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño defends the title, who last year overtook Francesco Molinari and Thongchai Jaidee by one blow.
The tour will stay in Shanghai next week for the WGC-HSBC Champions with an $8,5 million purse. From 13 to 18 November the appointment is instead in Turkey, while the final from 20 to 23 November will be in Dubai, the emirate that gives its name to the entire circuit.
Even the US tour this week is in the East, precisely in Malaysia for the Cimb Classic which takes place on the Kuala Lumpur G&CC track in the capital that gives the club its name. Among the participants the Spaniard Garcia, the British Paul Casey and Lee Westwood, the South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Retief Goosen. The prize pool is seven million dollars with first coin of 1.260 million dollars.
In the meantime, the International Golf and Tourism Fair (IGTM) on Lake Como closes today. The balance of the sector is positive, which continues to grow by double digits (+21,4% in the two-year period 2012-2013) despite the crisis. Furthermore, according to a survey presented in recent days, Italy is becoming an increasingly popular destination for players from all over the world. In fact, interviews with a sample of 6000 European golfers show a great desire for the Belpaese, given that a large percentage of these tourists with bags on their backs want to consider it as a destination for a golf holiday in the next five years: this is the case for 31% of British and Irish, 56% of French, 71% of Swedes and 76% of Germans.
