The Race to Dubai
When golf was born in Scotland in the 19th century, there were few who could afford to play it. There were no big tournaments, no big prize money, and no big names. Not till the creation of the Professional Golfers Association of Britain, was
modern golf really born. It was this body that eventually gave birth to the European Tour.
The first European tour season started in 1972 and ran for six months. It was played in its entirety on European soil; mostly in Great Britain, and consisted of 20 tournaments. Seven of these tournaments were played on the continent, while the other 12 were
played on the British Isles. Recently the Tour has expanded its reach into North Africa, Australia, South Africa, and most significantly East Asia.
Until 2009 the leading players were ranked according to the Order of Merit. Initially a points system, it was changed in 1975 to how much prize money the player earned during the season. In order to retain membership of the European Tour a player had to participate
in at least 12 tournaments (The 2010 season consisted of a total of 47 tournaments). The winner of the Order of Merit receives the Harry Vardon Trophy.
In 2009 the Order of Merit was replaced by the Race to Dubai. The change in name was to reflect the new tournament that now marks the end of the European calendar year, The Dubai World Championship. With a winning purse of $7.5 million, the tournament is contested
by the top 60 players in the race.
The 2010 European Tour was 39th iteration of the event. It kicked off on the 10th of December with the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa. The 47 tournaments included the Ryder Cup, the four major championships and four World
Golf Championships.
The main contesters for this year’s race emerged to be Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Ireland's Graeme McDowell and England’s Lee Westwood.
Martin Kaymer has initiated a winning streak in the year 2010 and has risen to No. 3 in the Official World ranking – his highest rating so far in his career. His streak of victories began in January this year when he was victorious at the Abu Dhabi Golf
Championship. Performing exceptionally well in the 2010 majors, the U.S Open and The Open Championship. He tied for the eighth place at the latter and seventh in the former. At The Open Championship he started the final round in third place.
In August this year Kaymer won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits – the first major championship of his career. Since Tiger Woods, Kaymer has been the first golfer to attain three consecutive victories in a year and the first European to do so since
1989. His victories include the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews and he was also part of the winning European Ryder Cup team. These victories have had a significant contribution towards his Official World Rankings.
McDowell has been the first Irishman to accomplish several feats in the golfing arena that no golfer from Ireland had accomplished before. He became the first Irishman to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June 2010, and the first European to do so in
over 40 years. Charged with putting to win in the final singles match of the 2010 Ryder Cup, he succeeded in making the 5 foot putt winning the Cup for Europe.
Lee Westwood finished a career-best 2nd at 2010 Masters and the 2010 Open Championship. Just as he was closing in on his first major victory, the PGA Championship, he was sidelined by a calf injury. Despite being out of the game since July, his
consistent performance earned him the coveted No.1 spot in the World Rankings. His injury, however, meant he could only participate in only 14 tournaments in the European Tour.
With a week to go to the Dubai World Championship Kaymer held a solid lead, with Graeme McDowell the only challenger left with any hope of overtaking him. However the tournament proved to be frustrating for both, as they both finished tied for 13th
place. This allowed Kaymer to top the Race to Dubai rankings and earned him a bonus of €1,092,418, taking his total earning for the year to €4,461,011. He became only the second German to be crowned European No.1 and the youngest (at 25) since 1989.
Regarding his win Kaymer had to say, “It's been a fantastic year I think. All of the goals that I set for myself, for my career, everything happened this year. To win The Race to Dubai, Number One in Europe, and to play The Ryder Cup, and to win a Major”.
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