Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and others to watch out for at DP World Tour Championship

Sport360 staff 07:53 15/11/2017

The Race to Dubai will come to an end at Jumeirah Golf Estates where the DP World Tour Championship is going to take place this weekend.

And here’s a look at the ones to watch out for as the European Tour season comes to a conclusion.

JUSTIN ROSE

Back-to-back victories at the WGC-HSBC Champions and Turkish Open have kept Fleetwood in check and Rose sat out the Nedbank Challenge to get himself sufficiently rested and recuperated for this weekend.

It backfired to a certain degree as Fleetwood’s 10th place in South Africa saw him extend his lead but Rose will be more than confident he can hunt his countryman down.

The 37-year-old will also harbour a desire to succeed in this tournament having twice finished runner-up in 2012 and 2014.

Justin Rose

Justin Rose

TOMMY FLEETWOOD

Fleetwood’s year began with a brilliant victory in Abu Dhabi and he’s enjoyed an outstanding year since – highlighted by his commanding position at the top of the rankings.

The 26-year-old also won the Open de France and claimed 10 top-10 finishes, including fourth at the US Open – his best finish in a major.

It’s easily been his best year on tour and while he’d be forgiven for a few nerves to kick in this weekend, he knows his fate in his own hands, and he has some form at this tournament having finished ninth last year.

Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood

SERGIO GARCIA

What a year it’s been for the Spaniard and to finish it as European golf’s No1 player would have more than an air of symbolism.

Garcia needs something spectacular and for Fleetwood and Rose to fail considerably but this is a city where he has already won this year – at the Desert Classic – and won’t maybe carry the same burden of expectation as the two men above him in the standings.

There has been an element of boom or bust, however, from the Masters champion with three victories and a runner-up against barely touching the top 30 in tournaments.

Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia

ROSS FISHER

Fisher banished memories of a disappointing summer by twice finishing in the top two over a fortnight last month at the Alfred Dunhill Links and Italian Open.

That $1m boost, added to an early spurt of form, has seen him compile more than $2.5m on the Race to Dubai – good enough to top his previous best calendar earnings on the European Tour in 2009.

However, you’d have to go all the way back to March 2014 for his last European Tour victory and the 36-year-old will be smarting from his recent near misses.

Ross Fisher

Ross Fisher

RAFA CABRERA-BELLO

Garcia and Rahm may be the two Spaniards in the spotlight this year but count out Cabrera-Bello at your peril, who ended a fiveyear drought on the European Tour by clinching the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in July.

In fact, the 33-year-old has been in generally superb form for a while now as at eighth, he was the highest-ranked Spaniard in last year’s Race to Dubai standings.

He is also likely to be a central figure in the Ryder Cup next year – in a losing effort at Hazeltine in 2016, few Europeans impressed as much as Cabrera Bello, with 2.5 points from just three matches.

Rafa Cabrera Bello

Rafa Cabrera Bello

ALEX NOREN

When Noren gets hot, he stays hot, as his course-record final round of 62 in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth – having been seven shots off the pace at the start of the day – is up there with any of the most impressive feats in the sport this year.

Unsurprisingly he has not kept up the form that led to him lifting five European Tour trophies within a 10-month span.

Since Wentworth the 35-yearold’s best finish has been a tie for sixth, but his results have been solid enough to suggest he will be around the leading pack.

Alex Noren

Alex Noren

JON RAHM

A Dubai debut for the new kid on the block but it surely won’t be the last time we see the talented 23-year-old, whose shot-making ability and aggressive game can make a real impact.

His outstanding start to the season has been mirrored on the PGA Tour where he closed out the FedEx Cup with four successive top-10s after a summer in which his white-hot form cooled.

However, on the European Tour, since winning the Irish Open in July the best he’s recorded is a tie for 15th at the Italian Open.

Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm

TYRRELL HATTON

Just like countryman Rose he bagged consecutive titles this season to propel him up the standings and he will surely be a fixture at this tournament for many years to come.

It’s been an impressive fightback for the 26-year-old as a run of five missed cuts over the summer threatened to derail his season.

His last two appearances in Dubai have been a second place at this tournament last year and tied for third at the Desert Classic. He will know he’s not far away from being crowned champion here.

Tyrrell Hatton

Tyrrell Hatton

BRANDEN GRACE

The South African is the man in form heading on to the Earth course this week after delighting his home crowd and winning in Sun City last Sunday – in the same week he found out that his wife would be giving birth to a boy.

Up to that point it had been a good season highlighted by one special round at The Open, where he became the first man to card a round of 62 in a Major.

Even then the 29-year-old could only finish in sixth. Roundto-round consistency during tournaments has been a problem, but his peaks are very high indeed.

Branden Grace

Branden Grace

FRANCESCO MOLINARI

Molinari has continued to hop between the PGA and European Tour and while it’s greatly bolstered his wallet, victories have proven elusive.

Five top-10 finishes on the PGA and an agonising second place at Wentworth are no small achievements but the Italian has yet to get over that last hump.

Still, the 35-year-old has compiled enough money from just 12 tournaments to be currently sitting 10th in the Race to Dubai – can he end a long and travel-intensive season with a flourish at Jumeirah Golf Estates?

Francesco Molinari

Francesco Molinari

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