The golfing odyssey that took in 51 tournaments through 27 destinations came to an end with a masterclass by Lee Westwood as the Englishman became the first winner of The Race to Dubai.

Westwood completed a stunning victory in the Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World to overtake Rory McIlroy at the top of The Race to Dubai with the performance of his career.

Opening rounds of 66, 68 and 66 put him in the driving seat but these paled compared to the brilliance of his final round, where he hit every fairway, every green and holed every putt of consequence. The end result was a course record eight under par 64 over the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and a six stroke victory over playing partner Ross McGowan.

And to the victor went the spoils, as in addition to the two stunning trophies – the Dubai World Championship baton and the new Race to Dubai trophy – and a Rolex watch, Westwood pocketed €830,675 and a further €996,810 for topping the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool, taking his season’s earnings to a record €4,237,762.

Westwood competed in 26 events during the course of the season, winning twice in the last month of the campaign, preceding his win in Dubai with success in the Portugal Masters to take his European Tour tally to 20 titles. His victory in Portugal also took him past Mark James and second only to Nick Faldo in the list of England’s most prolific champions.

In addition to his two wins, Westwood claimed a further 11 top tens, which included a remarkable run through the second half of the season where he finished outside the top ten only twice in his final 11 events since the US Open in June.

The Race to Dubai featured many twists and turns from the moment Robert Karlsson struck the opening tee shot in Shanghai in front of golfing dignitaries, including European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady. Players from 40 nations competed over the 382 day campaign which culminated with the top 60 competing in the Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World and the top 15 walking away with the Bonus Pool.

Along the way players from 16 different nations have triumphed in The Race to Dubai, with England winning the highest number of trophies – ten – thanks to a glut of champions in the final few weeks of the season. The United States were not far behind with seven, while Sweden had five winners and Argentina four.

There were 32 hole in ones, 15 first-time winners and 14 new course records. Rory McIlroy, second to Lee Westwood in The Race to Dubai Rankings, has had the most top five finishes this season with 12 – twice as many as Westwood, and the young Northern Irishman ended his European Tour campaign by becoming only the second 20 year old, after Sergio Garcia, to break into the World’s Top Ten.

Martin Kaymer, with successive victories in mid-summer in the Open de France ALSTOM and The Barclays Scottish Open, finished third in The Race to Dubai with Ross Fisher, winner of the Volvo World Match Play Championship, fourth.

Paul Casey, who missed most of the second half of the season with a rib injury, took fifth place, a reflection of the outstanding first half of the season where he won twice – in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship.

Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who defeated Casey in the final of the WGC – Accenture Match Play, finished the season sixth while Oliver Wilson got his reward for another season of great consistency by finishing seventh.

Simon Dyson was another multiple winner, capturing the KLM Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, two victories which helped him break into the top ten of the money list for the first time in eighth place.

Ian Poulter was another who enjoyed a strong finish to the year, highlighted by his win in the Barclays Singapore Open, while Sergio Garcia, who got the race going with his win in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, took tenth place.

Ernie Els, with six top tens including runner-up in the WGC – HSBC Champions, took 11th place with Ross McGowan, who followed his maiden Tour success in the Madrid Masters with a runners-up finish in the Dubai World Championship, also qualified for the Bonus Pool in 12th place.

Søren Kjeldsen won the Open de Andalucia de Golf 09 in March and went on to accrue six other top tens, came in 13th with Francesco Molinari, with three top tens in his last four events, took 14th.

The 15th and final place in The Race to Dubai Bonus Pool went to three-time Major Champion Padraig Harrington, whose joint fourth place finish in the Dubai World Championship was just enough to edge him into the top 15.

Those 15 players each earned a slice of the $7.5 million Bonus Pool at the end of a thrilling season, but ultimately, the 2009 Race to Dubai deservedly belonged to the highest ranked European in the world, Lee Westwood.