Race to Dubai 2009

golferThe 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.

ladbrokes golf betting

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

 

PLAYER

NATION

PRIZE MONEY (€)

 

 

 

 

01

Lee Westwood

ENG

4,237,762

02

Rory McIlroy

NIR

3,610,020

03

Martin Kaymer

GER

2,864,342

04

Ross Fisher

ENG

2,531,183

05

Paul Casey

ENG

2,362,947

06

Geoff Ogilvy

AUS

2,202,814

07

Oliver Wilson

ENG

2,010,158

08

Simon Dyson

ENG

1,807,753

09

Ian Poulter

ENG

1,773,470

10

Sergio Garcia

ESP

1,660,788

11

Ernie Els

RSA

1,571,577

12

Ross McGowan

ENG

1,558,808

13

Søren Kjeldsen

DEN

1,529,253

14

Francesco Molinari

ITA

1,505,010

15

Padraig Harrington

IRL

1,468,232