The Race to Dubai kicks off ten days from today at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and the excitement is spreading among the players as a new era draws closer.
Many of The European Tour’s leading players have been expressing their views about the start of The Race to Dubai, which will build to a thrilling climax at The Dubai World Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in November 2009, and over the next ten dayswww.europeantour.comwill run a countdown to the kick off with views from the players.
Today, we bring you quotes from around the world - from Spain’s Sergio Garcia, the World Number Three and designer of one of the four courses being built at Jumeirah Golf Estates, England’s Paul Casey, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, Australian Richard Green, Denmark’s Søren Hansen and Frenchman Gregory Havret – highlighting the international make-up of The European Tour.
Sergio Garcia:"I want to be in it and I want to win it! The Race to Dubai represents a real statement of intent by The European Tour and by Dubai. The Tour has clearly moved up a gear in its ability to attract the world’s best players and Dubai has reinforced its position as a centre of world golf. It will certainly help focus the interest of the players throughout the year and I for one will be seeking to get to Dubai and make a great finish to the season."
"Everybody I have talked to on both sides of the Atlantic is very positive about this development. The Race to Dubai is great and will take The European Tour and European golf to a new level and where it is supposed to be. We are all very excited and looking forward to seeing how it goes.
"A good week in Shanghai would be the perfect start to the season and it would be great to build up the winnings for The Race to Dubai standings. I was pleased with this season but I believe I can take some big steps forward in the coming year and Shanghai is the place to start."
Paul Casey:"I think this could be a new era. As soon as you finish the US PGA in August there is a shift in focus. For guys in the US it’s the FedEx Cup, for guys over here it is going to be towards The Race to Dubai and you can’t blame them. I’m sure part of it is about the money but part of it is about winning. For me it’s about the title. I came close to winning The Order of Merit in 2006 and I’d love to be the head guy winning The Race to Dubai, that would be pretty sweet."
Darren Clarke:"I will be in China for the start and I am definitely excited about it. The Race to Dubai will build to a massive finale for The European Tour. The Tour is in a great position right now and the fact that we are going to finish our season in Dubai, fantastic sponsors and supporters, is a very exciting time for us. The prize purse for all of us to play for with the bonus money makes it a very exciting time. I am sure all the guys will be totally committed to Europe to make sure they are there and have a chance. I want to be there in Dubai at the end of next year, at Jumeirah Estates trying to win the first prize."
Richard Green:"It’s very exciting. Financially, the tournament at the end of the year gives you a lot of incentive. I will try and do what I normally do, achieve the goals I set at the start of the year and that has always got me into the end of season championship so hopefully that works again next year. It’s very exciting, that’s for sure, but as important a good start is, it is also important to be consistent through the year. I have always prided myself in being consistent and hopefully that will be good enough to give myself a chance at the end of the year."
Søren Hansen:"I am excited about the start. I think we might get some really classy players to play, maybe some of the Americans will come and play when their season is over. It proves once again that The European Tour is very strong and it is feature that will make the Europeans playing a little more in the States think about playing more in Europe. It is a sign that the Tour is growing and that is lovely."
Grégory Havret:"This is the start of something very new and exciting. We will have a stronger Tour and maybe we will see more big names in tournaments. It is finally arriving after so much talk. Dubai has been very good for us and this is a step up. The new schedule looks fantastic and a new event in France to look forward to at the end of the season. That will be an important one and should have a strong field. There are a lot of good things to look forward to. This first tournament is very important and with a good result you might already be booked in Dubai 12 months in advance."
