Say It Ain't So Rory (And Co.)

THE RACE TO DUBAI ENDED WITH THE EMOTIONAL RETURN OF DANNY WILLETT AND A WORTHY SEASON CHAMPION IN FRANCESCO MOLINARI. BUT THE DEFINING NARRATIVE FROM JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES COULD HAVE FAR REACHING IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REGION AND THE EUROPEAN TOUR.

LIKE AN F1 DRIVER with a car running on fumes on the last lap of the championship, Francesco Molinari was trying desperately to ignore all the title permutations emanating from the pits (read media centre) and summon one last surge in this Race to Dubai season. â–¶ Fortunately for the 36-year-old Italian, Tommy Fleetwood misfired first on Earth, a Saturday 74 ending the Englishman’s chances of taking the chequered flag at the 10th DP World Tour Championship and with it, any hope of repeating as European No.1. â–¶ Fleetwood clearly wasn’t driving to team orders at Jumeirah Golf Estates despite their now-fabled ‘Moliwood’ Ryder Cup bromance heightening the season-deciding narrative. But if he had to relinquish the Harry Vardon trophy, doing so to his best pal on tour wasn’t totally unpalatable, even if fast-finishing Patrick Reed ultimately snuck between the friends on the final 2017-18 season podium.

Sure, Molinari spluttered across the line in a share of 26th place at JGE. But the Claret Jug, BMW PGA Championship, a maiden PGA Tour title and his historic five-for-five Ryder Cup record was an awful lot of emotional baggage to carry on this final, four-lap circumnavigation of Earth. It was Molinari’s Race to Dubai to lose and he deservedly kept his nose in front after finishing just four shots and 10 places beneath Fleetwood.