The last round of the Final Series begins today in Dubai, even if the European classification is now written and the winner of the "championship" is world number one Rory McIlory.
The DP World Tour Championship, which opens this morning on the Jumeirah Golf Estates course, is a rich and important competition, which offers $8 million up for grabs, for a small number of players, the first sixty of the Race to Dubai. Therefore, it cannot be said that it is only a catwalk, because the carpet is red, the challenge is on and the names are of weight: McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, that is the cream of the European tour, but also worldwide.
At the highest level there are 5 million bonuses for the top 15 finishers of the Race to Dubai. As far as the "championship" is concerned, however, the games are made and this should induce the leaders of the Tour to rethink the final formula, to make it more similar to the American Playoffs, keeping the games open until the end.
In fact, consider that Rory wins, without having participated in other Final Series events, to the great disappointment of the golfing public. On the one hand this epilogue is right, because the Northern Irishman won two majors in 2014, on the other it is disappointing, because the magnetism of golf derives from a few magnets, stars like Tiger Woods and McIlroy who is the natural heir. The fact that Rory only gets to the end to get the cup leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
However honor to merit: the twenty-five year old wins the Race to Dubai for the second time in two years and, with this success, equals Luke Donald's feat in 2011, resulting in the same season, first in the European classification of merit and in the American one.
At Jumeirah Golf, from today to Sunday, to compete for the rich trophy, there are also the brothers Edoardo (37th) and Francesco Molinari (36th), as well as Matteo Manassero who, for Dubai, took the last flight, thanks to the renunciation of the 60th Paul Casey. The appointment is broadcast live on Sky Sport, with a summary in the evening.
Finally, good news for Italy in golf comes from the Final Qualifying Stage of the European Tour taking place over a distance of 108 holes at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona, Spain. Renato Paratore leads the way and, if he keeps up the pace today, he could become the youngest winner of this tournament, a success that will ensure his entry into the European Tour next year.
