Thongchai Jaidee’s one-stroke victory in the Porsche European Open in Germany has pushed the 45 year old into the top ten of The Race to Dubai.
The experienced Thai shot a four under final round 67 to finish on 17 under and win the event with Graeme Storm delivering a determined challenge. Jaidee’s seventh European Tour title has launched him up to eighth in The Race to Dubai rankings with 1,477,477 points as he claimed the € 333,330 winner’s cheque.
“It’s been a very special week for me,” said Jaidee, who didn’t turn professional until he was 30. “It is the third time I have won outside of Asia, so I’m very excited about that and I’m happy to win this tournament. I didn’t make many mistakes this week – only one bogey. I played very nicely and 17 under is some score for me.”
It has also been a satisfying weekend for the other top four finishers – Graeme Storm, Swede Pelle Edberg and Australian Scott Hend. After their impressive scores they now all have a realistic chance of making the field for the DP World Tour Championship showdown, which is open to the top 60 players in The Race to Dubai rankings. The season-ending event takes place on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday November 19 to Sunday November 22.
Storm earned € 222,220 after finishing one shot off the leader - the Englishman’s first top 10 finish of the season which has moved him up to 66th in The Race to Dubai rankings.
Edberg, who was runner-up just short of a month ago in the D+D REAL Czech Masters, maintained his fine form with a third-place 14 under finish. He has now surged into 59th in The Race to Dubai rankings with a total of 440,646 points. Meanwhile, Australian Scott Hend moved into the much sought-after top 60 in the standings with a total of 429,043 points.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (3,012,000 points) still sits at the top of The Race to Dubai leaderboard with Englishman Danny Willett (2,706,105 points) just behind.
The DP World Tour Championship gets underway on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just under two months. General admission is free of charge and can be obtained by registering online at www.DPWorldTourChampionship.com. Those who register will also be placed into a prize draw with the chance to win a VIP Hospitality package for the Championship Chalet.
