Among the many reasons why the Portugal Masters is rated so highly by players and fans is that it comes so close the season’s end and often has a significant bearing on the Race to Dubai.
The Race to Dubai is a season-long competition spanning a minimum of 48 tournaments in 26 countries and all five continents on The 2014 European Tour International Schedule.
• The Race to Dubai winner receives The Harry Vardon Trophy (first awarded in 1937), and a seven year European Tour Card exemption. The winner of The Race to Dubai will secure Category 1 Membership of The European Tour similar to the winners of The Open Championship, the US Open, the US PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament. The Bonus Pool will count as Official Money on the final Race to Dubai standings.
At the conclusion of the Perth International Championship (October 26, 2014), The Race to Dubai will be converted into a points table with every Euro of Official Prize Money being converted into one point. This is to allow for the following points scheme for the Final Series’:
Each of the four Final Series tournaments – the BMW Masters, WGC- HSBC Champions, the Turkish Airlines Open and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – will have an enhanced Race to Dubai point’s breakdown totalling 10,000,000 points, with each winner receiving 1,666,600 points.
THE 2014 RACE TO DUBAI BONUS POOL
The 2014 Race to Dubai Bonus Pool will be divided amongst the leading 15 Players in The Race to Dubai as calculated at the conclusion of (and taking into account Race to Dubai points won by players participating in) the 2014 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, as set out in the table below.
The Bonus Pool Official Money (US$) will be converted into Race to Dubai points (each point equivalent to 1 Euro) and will be included within the final Race to Dubai Ranking for the 2014 Official Season.
Note: To be eligible for Bonus Pool prize money and the appropriate Race to Dubai points, a player must participate in the 2014 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, unless he has a Mitigating Circumstance**(explained below).
If any player who is ranked in the leading 15 players in The Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, is ineligible for the share of the Bonus Pool due to his non-participation in that tournament for a reason which is not a **Mitigating Circumstance, the Bonus Pool prize money and Race to Dubai points that would have otherwise been awarded to such Player will not be awarded to that Player and such Bonus Pool prize money and Race to Dubai points will not be re-allocated to any other Players.
| Race to Dubai Ranking | Bonus (US$) | Race to Dubai Ranking | Bonus (US$) | |
|
1 |
1,250,000 |
9 |
170,000 |
|
|
2 |
800,000 |
10 |
150,000 |
|
|
3 |
530,000 |
11 |
140,000 |
|
|
4 |
400,000 |
12 |
130,000 |
|
|
5 |
350,000 |
13 |
120,000 |
|
|
6 |
300,000 |
14 |
110,000 |
|
|
7 |
250,000 |
15 |
100,000 |
|
|
8 |
200,000 |
|||
| TOTAL (US$) |
5,000,000 |
(NB. The applicable Race to Dubai points will be calculated based on the US$ to Euro exchange rate on the Monday of the DP World Tour Championship).
• England’s Lee Westwood won the inaugural Race to Dubai in 2009, winning twice during the season – in the Portugal Masters and the Dubai World Championship – and accumulating a record €4,237,762. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy finished second and 15th place went to Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
• Martin Kaymer succeeded Lee Westwood as The Race to Dubai champion in 2010 to become only the fourth continental European to win the Harry Vardon trophy, following in the footsteps of the legendary Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Robert Karlsson. Kaymer won four times in 2010, capturing his maiden Major title at the US PGA Championship in addition to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the KLM Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship on his way to €4,461,011 to finish ahead of Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell. England’s Luke Donald finished 15th.
• Luke Donald became the third winner of the Race to Dubai when he completed an historic money list double to become the Number One player on both The European Tour and the US PGA Tour. Donald won three times during the season, capturing the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship, the BMW PGA Championship and the Barclays Scottish Open. He was runner-up on another two occasion and finished in the top ten a further five times, finishing outside the top ten only three times in a remarkably consistent season. His earnings of €5,323,400 set a new European Tour record. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy finished second with 2010 Race to Dubai Champion, Martin Kaymer, third. Louis Oosthuizen took 15th place.
• Rory McIlroy went one better in 2012 by taking the Number One honours with new record earnings of €5,519,118. He also emulated Donald’s feat of winning both the Race to Dubai and US PGA Tour Money List after a season where he won five times around the world, including the US PGA Championship – by eight strokes – and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, and rose to World Number One. His remarkable consistency saw him finish in the top five nine times in 15 events. England’s Justin Rose finished second with South African Louis Oosthuizen third. Paul Lawrie finished tenth.
• Henrik Stenson followed Donald and McIlroy by completing a similar but unique transatlantic double in 2013, taking the Number One spot to become the first man to win The Race to Dubai and the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in the same season. Won three times around the world, including the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, to finish almost €1million clear of Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell. A tied third finish at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open kick-started a season-defining run that saw the Swede claim a career-best second place finish at The Open Championship followed by a tied second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and a third place finish at the US PGA Championship. Eagled the last at Jumeirah Golf Estates to spectacularly close out a superb six-shot win in Dubai and a stunning double triumph.
• The Number 1 to 60 players in The Race to Dubai (ranked according to their earnings from all events on The European Tour International Schedule) following the conclusion of the tournament held the previous week will qualify for the end of season event.
• During the 2013 event, it was announced that The Race to Dubai has been extended through to the 2017 season. The next edition of The Race to Dubai will once again conclude with the season-ending finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates, which will carry with it an increased Bonus Pool of US$5 million. Furthermore, at least one staging of the championship will be on the complex’s Fire course between 2014 and 2017.
• The DP World Tour Championship in 2013 will also feature the BMW Masters and the WGC-HSBC Champions in China and the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya.
• The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai winner receives a five year European Tour Card exemption. The winner of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai secures Category 2 Membership as does the winner of the BMW PGA Championship.
• The season finale took place in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 on the Earth Course designed by Greg Norman. The last four holes measure exactly one mile – 1760 yards – comprising a short par four, a long par four, a par three and a medium to long par five.
• A full Member in Categories 1-11 of The European Tour must play 12 tournaments to qualify for DP World Tour Championship, Dubai which by playing in would enable him to reach the minimum number of 13 required to retain full Membership of The European Tour. A player must compete in the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai to receive a payment from The Race to Dubai Bonus Pool and therefore to be eligible to finish Number One and win The Harry Vardon Trophy unless he has a Mitigating Circumstance*. Affiliate and/or Category 15 Members do not have to play a minimum of 12 as they do not have the right to enter tournaments and can only play on invites or qualification.
* Mitigating Circumstance: A player withdrawing from the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai for reasons of injury, serious disability or personal emergency which is deemed acceptable** by the Chief Executive (in his absolute determination) will remain eligible to receive any applicable Bonus Pool payment.