Englishman Chris Wood’s gritty victory in the prestigious BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth saw him roar into the top five of the Race to Dubai as the European Tour season hit full swing after a blustery day in Virginia Water.
Wood regularly uses the world-class practice facilities at the European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai and the 28-year-old put himself right in the mix for a tilt at Race to Dubai glory - when the season-ending DP World Tour Championship returns to the same venue from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November - after securing the biggest title of his career on home soil.
Wood started the final round three strokes behind leader Scott Hend but a stunning record-equalling front nine of 29 over the West Course saw him surge into a four stroke lead. From there it was a battle of nerve as he saw his advantage wiped out with bogeys on 10, 14, 16 and 17 before choosing to play it safe by laying up on the 18th for a par and a closing 69 that secured a one stroke victory over clubhouse leader Rikard Karlberg at nine under par. The win saw him awarded 833,330 Race to Dubai points to take his season total to 1,423,369.
“It’s impressive to see Chris Wood perform so well on his way to victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth,” said Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour International Dubai Office. “Chris is a frequent visitor to Dubai and to Jumeirah Golf Estates’ ETPI.
“We recall him coming through Dubai in early 2015 whilst recovering from a wrist injury suffered in late 2014. We look forward to welcoming Chris back to the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November for the DP World Tour Championship.”
Sweden’s Karlberg ensured a return to Dubai for a second successive appearance in the DP World Tour Championship – open only to the top 60 players in the Race to Dubai – with a stunning final round 65 that fired him 28 places up the leaderboard and almost forced a play-off before Wood’s wise decision to take a conservative approach to the 18th saw him bag 555,550 points to move from 69th to 10th place in the Race to Dubai.
Masters Tournament winner Danny Willet, meanwhile, continued his strong form with a closing 71 to take third place and 313,000 Race to Dubai points at seven under par, which solidified his lead at the top of the rankings with 3,093,273 points under his belt so far.
French pair Romain Wattel (70) and Julian Quesne (72) shared fourth place at six under par with South Africa’s Thomas Aiken as the trio each received 212,333 points and moved to 38th, 31st and 46th place on the Race to Dubai respectively and in with a great chance making the field for the season finale in Dubai.
General admission to the DP World Tour Championship is free of charge. For more information please visit
www.DPWorldTourChampionship.com
.
