European Golfers ste New Year Targets

The potent combination of world-class performances – led by Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson and Lee Westwood – and the lure of the inaugural Race to Dubai sees The European Tour’s current Membership ring in the New Year as the dominant force in the Official World Golf Ranking. Of the 50 leading players in the game, based on the Official Ranking, a record 39 are now plying their trade on The European Tour with eight of the top ten all in Membership as dawn breaks on an exciting new year. These impressive numbers are swollen by several new Full and Affiliate Members, namely Robert Allenby, Stephen Ames, Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Tim Clark, Ben Curtis, Anthony Kim, Geoff Ogilvy, Rory Sabbatini, Camilo Villegas and Mike Weir – with the prospect of further additions early in the New Year as The 2009 Race to Dubai gets into full swing. However, the 2008 season also saw some momentous leaps on the Official World Golf Ranking from the Tour’s established Members. Of those players who plied their trade on a number of platforms around the globe, the breathtaking performances of double Major Champion, Padraig Harrington, and Harry Vardon Trophy winner, Robert Karlsson, plus the ascent to World Number Two by Sergio Garcia, were the highlights of a tremendous year which saw Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson and Ernie Els consolidate their top ten spots. Harrington’s summer of Major Championship glory in The Open and US PGA Championship helped the Irishman climb from eighth to fourth. Meanwhile Karlsson’s astonishing consistency over the past 12 months, when he won twice individually as well as in tandem with Stenson, representing Sweden in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, finished within the top eight in three of the season’s four Major Championships and racked up a further seven top four finishes, saw him make a staggering climb from 41st position at the beginning of the year to his current career-high ranking of World Number Six. Garcia brought an end to Phil Mickelson’s stranglehold on the World Number Two spot with his win in the recent HSBC Champions to become Tiger Woods’ closest challenger, while Lee Westwood’s impressive level of consistency was such that he climbed from 23rd to ten. Victory in The Players Championship in the United States and a close call behind Harrington in the US PGA Championship launched Garcia on his way to getting closest to breaking Woods’ stranglehold on the Number One position. Another huge success in the HSBC Champions enables the Spaniard to lead the runners in The Race to Dubai going into 2009. He said: “This Race to Dubai is going to bring some different things to the Tour. I know we are looking forward to keep making the Tour stronger and I think it's definitely going in the right direction.” Reflecting on his move to Number Two in the World, Garcia added: “There are always a couple of things that you can improve on. I've been improving on my short game quite a lot this year and that is probably what's going to give you the extra edge. I’ve got got to keep working hard on every single part and on my mental game and see if we can keep moving and taking the right steps towards what we want to achieve.” Looking ahead to the next few weeks, he added: “The tournaments in the Middle East are great. The fields are good and you get a lot of World Ranking points. You're moving in the right direction. That's definitely going to be the case this year for The Race to Dubai and The European Tour for many years to come, and I think that's why you are going to see more good players coming more often and playing in Europe.” The decision of Villegas, Kim and Ogilvy to join The European Tour adds spice and a touch of glamour to The Race to Dubai, with Colombian Villegas now seventh in the world with American Kim and Australian Ogilvy in 11th and 12th respectively. Villegas cannot wait to enter the fray as The Race to Dubai hots up, and he said: “I’m very excited to be joining The European Tour. I’ve always wanted to play world tours, but just had to put myself in a good position in the World Ranking so I can try to work both schedules as best I can. “It just happens that my first year joining The European Tour coincides with the first year of The Race to Dubai. Obviously it’s going to catch a lot of guys’ attention, but I wanted to get myself in a good World Ranking position, like I said, to be able to set both schedules and play both Tours. “It would be nice to see more guys from the US come and play, since golf is a worldwide sport. It’s growing big-time all over the world, and we have to support that. I always wanted to play around the world, so that’s why I made the decision.” Kim, the youngster of Korean heritage who dazzled on his Ryder Cup debut for the United States at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky in September, is another player tingling with anticipation at the prospect of The Race to Dubai. He said: “I am very excited about The Race to Dubai. I got to play my first co-sanctioned event with The European Tour and the Asian Tour at the Ballantine’s Championship and I felt like I could make a name for myself worldwide, not just the United States. “ While Garcia and Co. were scaling the dizziest of heights on the Official World Golf Ranking, Ross Fisher, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell were all bursting into – and cementing their places within – the top 50 with some memorable performances around the globe. Jiménez’s victory at the 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open saw the Spaniard move from 60th to 39th before his brilliant win in the BMW PGA Championship ensured the 44 year old a place among the game’s elite top 50. He is now 22nd on the Official World Golf Ranking. Three places below Jiménez lies Kaymer, whose victories in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the BMW International Open – coupled with a further six top ten finishes – guaranteed the young German’s place at golf’s top table in 25th place within 12 months of finishing as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. Fisher’s seven-stroke success at The European Open took the Englishman to the cusp of the top 50, before a powerful finish to the year saw him climb to 29th on the year-end Ranking. McDowell battled his way back to the top level with thrilling wins at the Ballantine’s Championship and The Barclays Scottish Open to attain his current Ranking of 33rd. Another reason for The European Tour’s record showing on the World Ranking has been the recent additions of Barclays Singapore Open winner Jeev Milkha Singh (35th) and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlory, who is a career high 39th which ensures the teenager a Masters Tournament debut in April. Both broke into the top 50 on the strength of their outstanding end of year performances around the world and were joined at the end of the year by 2008 Volvo Masters champion Søren Kjeldsen, who slipped into 50th position on the back of that stunning victory at Valderrama in November. “It’s been an absolutely great year to qualify to play at Augusta in my second season thanks to making the Top 50 in the world and staying there,” said McIlroy, at 19 the youngest player in the world’s top 50. “It’s going to be great, driving up Magnolia Lane. It’s just going to be absolutely fantastic. I’ll still be a teenager when I’m going up there and I’m obviously looking forward to next year. “All I wanted to do was get into the Volvo Masters and get in the Top 100 in the world, and I’ve done so much more than that this year,” he said. “It’s been absolutely fantastic. I’ve worked hard for it, so I’m thrilled.” With the Tour’s established players being joined by a healthy proportion of the world’s elite– a direct result of The Race to Dubai – The European Tour moves into the New Year at the forefront of world golf.