Race to Dubai leader Francesco Molinari and the man closest to him, Tommy Fleetwood, both skipped the Nedbank Golf Challenge – here are three who can pass them.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy may not have a win yet in 2018 but he has enjoyed another excellent season with three second place finishes including the BMW PGA Championship and The Open Championship. He will have to enter the winner’s circle at least once to have a chance of being Europe’s number one for a fourth time as he plays in both the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the season-ending event in Dubai – which he has won twice before. Should he win both of those events, Molinari needs to finish second on his own or with one other in Dubai to take the crown. A win in South Africa and a solo second in Dubai would be good enough for McIlroy should Molinari finish worse then tied sixth with one other. A solo second at Gary Player Country Club and a win in Dubai would need Molinari to finish worse than solo seventh or a tie for sixth with two others for McIlroy to prevail.
Li Haotong
Li has been a bit of a sleeper in this year’s Race to Dubai, having gone over eight months without a top ten following his win at the Dubai Desert Classic in January. A second place finish at the Rolex Series Turkish Airlines Open, however, has left him in the top ten in the Rankings and like McIlroy, he is teeing it up in both Sun City and Dubai. Only two consecutive wins will give him a chance of being crowned Europe’s Number One, and even then he needs Molinari to finish worse then tied fourth with one other at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Lucas Bjerregarrd
Bjerregaard made a relatively slow start to the season with five missed cuts in his first seven events but after claiming the first of ten top tens at the Volvo China Open, he has been a picture of consistency. He finished in a tie for third at the BMW PGA Championship and has been in the top ten in six of his last eight events. That included a stunning victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and he will need two more of those – with Molinari finishing worse then a tie for eighth with one other in Dubai – to be Europe’s Number One.
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Credit: European Tour
