Lee Slattery’s second European Tour title has surged him up to 66thfrom 120ndin The Race to Dubai rankings after cashing in a winner’s cheque for €166,660 edging him closer to the top 60 and making the field for the prestigious closing finale in the United Arab Emirates.
Slattery held off Estanislao Goya to win the M2M Russian Open by a stroke, and the 37 year old’s victory in Moscow, Russia, has given him a great chance of a spot in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November.
Prior to this tournament, the Englishman’s best performance in the M2M Russian Open was tied tenth in 2006 so he was delighted to taste victory in the event.
"It has been a difficult year,” said Slattery. “It's just nice to be able to finish the year off like this, with a win, knowing that I can plan next year now and hopefully get myself going again to where I belong, I feel."
Goya applied pressure to Slattery throughout the weekend but could only muster a second-place finish. However he still walked away with 111,110 points in The Race to Dubai that helped him rise to 141stin the rankings from 250nd. Although he fell short, the Argentine was pleased with his performance. He said: "After how I have started the year, this tournament gave me a real taste of it again and even though I was leading and I finished second, Lee played great and finished great to chip in at 17. I think I played great and he beat me by one. I’m pretty happy anyway."
It was another fantastic weekend for David Horsey who was victorious at the M2M Russian Open last year. Therefore it was unsurprising that he was in the mix and finished just two strokes off Slattery in third. The in-form Englishman, who was triumphant at the Made in Denmark event two weeks ago, now sits in the top 50 in The Race to Dubai and has practically secured his place in November’s DP World Tour Championship.
The top 40 remains unaltered in The Race to Dubai with Rory McIlroy still leading the pack.
The DP World Tour Championship gets underway on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just under three months. General admission is free of charge and can be obtained by registering online atwww.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.
