‘Race to the States’ gives the DP World Tour finale another drama...

It is the race within the race. Inside the Race to Dubai, the “race to the States” has become an annual feature of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. And with the state of play at the top of the Old World circuit’s rankings pointing to only one thing—a sixth Rory McIlroy victory—the contest for the 10 PGA Tour cards available to those not already in possession has added prominence over the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.

As things stand, Thriston Lawrence, Rasmus Hojgaard, Paul Waring, Niklas Norgaard, Matteo Manassero, Jesper Svensson, Thorbjorn Olesen, Rikuya Hoshino, Sebastian Soderberg and Jordan Smith occupy the prime positions. But such is the volume of points available in this $10 million event (2,000 go to the winner this week) that anyone in the 50-strong field (all the way down to last-man-in Francisco Laporta) has at least a mathematical chance of claiming a place across the pond. So there is much to play for away from the duel between McIlroy and Lawrence for the premier position.

Whoever ends up with the 10 cards, perhaps just as interesting is speculating as to just how well the graduates will fare on what, at least according to the long-time narrative, is a much-stronger tour. Last year, of the nine who took up their PGA Tour places (Adrian Meronk defected to LIV Golf), six retained their cards and two (Robert MacIntyre and Matthieu Pavon) actually won tournaments. Only three—Olesen, Alexander Bjork and Jorge Campillo—lost their playing rights. So maybe that age-old “truism” comparing tour qualities needs some re-writing.

“It is clear that the better players on the DP World Tour can compete in America,” says former European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley. “The narrative that the gap is sizeable is wrong. The Ryder Cup proves that. Our players deserve a lot more respect than they get in the States. There is real quality over here. Actually, the bigger challenge for them is learning the courses on the PGA Tour. And it can feel like a long way from home over there. You have to embrace American culture and be comfortable there. Their golf is good enough though.”

On that last point at least, Lawrence, the man currently holding the No. 1 card, is in agreement.

“It will be easier for me to adapt to playing over there,” the South African says. “There are exceptions, but there is more of a sameness in the States than there is here. I’ve played a couple of events over there and not done too well. But playing full time will be different from going for maybe just a couple of weeks. I’ve never done well on invitations. I find it hard to get going in those situations. Next year I will be able to be more patient and not ‘chase’ anything.

“The gap between here and there isn’t as big as people think,” he continues. “Look at how well some of the guys who got their cards last year have done. I know they have guys like Scottie Scheffler who wins a lot. But there are a lot of new winners apart from him. The competition is strong, but if you can win on the DP World Tour you can win anywhere. You always have to beat guys who are playing great.”

Speaking of which, the man who did just that last week to propel himself into “possession” of the fifth card, Waring, is one who is giddily getting used to the idea that he is likely to be a fully fledged PGA Tour player come Sunday evening.

“We all aspire to play with the best players in the world and to forward our careers,” says the former English Amateur champion. “On that side of the pond there are more World Ranking points available. Potentially I would play my way into a few of the majors now. Those are the level of tournaments where I want to play. I’m not going to say I’ve had a frustrating career, but I’ve always been on the cusp something. So now to kick down that door and get in these events, it’s massive for me.”

For them all. A tense four days lie ahead.

Main image: Richard Heathcote