Race to Dubai 2009

The first ever Race to Dubai competition proved to be incredibly popular, not just with the professional golfers who were directly involved but also with spectators, the sporting media and those who enjoy betting on sporting events. Race to Dubai 2009 started in November 2008 with 60 players and finished a year later in November 2009.

England's Lee Westwood took the title of Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year as well as the prize money for winning the competition.

The Race to Dubai bonus pool for the 2009 competition was worth $7.5 million, and Lee Westwood took $1.5 million of this, with the remainder being shared by the next fourteen players according to their rankings. The bonus pool was originally intended to be worth $10 million, but the economic problems experienced globally in 2009 led to the bonus pool being decreased to $7.5 million. It may of course be amended again for future competitions according to the economical conditions faced at that time.

Although Race to Dubai 2009 winner Lee Westwood had been named European Tour Golfer of the Year twice before (in 1998 and 2000) and his performance throughout the race was of an extremely high standard, he was not leading the field when he entered the Dubai World Championship in the last week of the race. Instead, he was in second place to Rory McIlroy. Fortunately for Westwood, he was able to put in the performance of a lifetime during the final event and overtake McIlroy to secure the accolade of becoming the first ever Race to Dubai winner.

The top 15 Race 2009 finishers and the prize money won by each can be seen in the table below: