With only one event of the 2018 Race to Dubai left to play, three players are in contention to be crowned this season’s Graduate of the Year.
The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the eighth and final Rolex Series event of the year which boasts a prize fund of $8,000,000, leaves Erik van Rooyen, Marcus Kinhult and Aaron Rai with plenty to play for as the battle to become the European Challenge Tour’s best performer on the European Tour this year.
Here we recap the top three’s journey from Oman to Dubai.
Erik van Rooyen
Following in the footsteps of fellow South African Dylan Frittelli, van Rooyen has had a fine year in his first full season on the European Tour.
Carrying on his fine form from the 2017 NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, where he finished in tied third, van Rooyen made four cuts in his opening five tournaments, including solo second on home soil at the Joburg Open where a final round of 66 saw him jump up the leaderboard.
Another top ten quickly followed, once again, in front of his home fans when he finished tenth at the Tshwane Open, before claiming a share of seventh at the Trophee Hassan II one month later.
In the first two Rolex Series events of the season – the BMW PGA Championship and the Italian Open – van Rooyen rose up the Race to Dubai Rankings with tied 20thand tied 42ndfinishes.
Soon after the South African found himself competing at the very highest level. After carding rounds of 71-65-66 at Ballyliffin Golf Club, van Rooyen claimed the 54-hole lead at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation ahead of the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.
Despite finishing the week in a share of fourth place, van Rooyen’s reputation was growing. After firing his way to the top of the leaderboard with an opening 67 at The Open Championship, the Johannesburger’s stock continued to rise as he held his own to finish the week in tied 17thin his maiden Major outing.
Part of his stellar rise from the Challenge Tour saw him play the WGC-HSBC Champions last month, where a share of 22ndmoved him into pole position for the Graduate of the Year award.
With 220,256 points separating him and his closest rival Kinhult, van Rooyen will be hoping to sign off the season in style in Dubai.
Marcus Kinhult
Kinhult is one of many talented Swedes to advance from the Challenge Tour to the European Tour and showcase their talents on the world stage.
After ending the 2017 season with a runner-up finish at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, the 22 year old – who graduated to the European Tour via Q-School in 2015 – made a bright start on his return to the European Tour, making five out of six cuts in his first three months, including a third place finish at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
His first appearance in a Rolex Series event at the BMW PGA Championship saw him claim tied 12thbefore he got within touching distance of winning his first European Tour title at the HNA Open de France.
Kinhult held the halfway lead, and the 54-hole lead, at Le Golf National but a final day 76 saw him fall down to tied fifth as fellow Swede Alex Noren lifted the title.
That result proved to be a catalyst for the young Swede, though. After his impressive showing in France, Kinhult made eight consecutive cuts, including a share of fourth place at the Portugal Masters, before adding a further 73,000 Race to Dubai points to his name at Rolex Series events in Turkey and South Africa.
Having already shown he can compete with the world’s best, Kinhult can still overtake van Rooyen at the final hurdle for the Graduate of the Year award.
Aaron Rai
Rai was the only player on the Challenge Tour to win three times in 2017 but struggled to continue that form at the start of his maiden European Tour campaign.
One cut in your opening five events might have worried many rookies, but the famously calm Englishman remained patient and quickly returned to form by making eight cuts in his next nine events – including a share of ninth place at the Hero Indian Open.
At the halfway stage of the season, the Englishman finished tied fifth at the BMW International Open – his best finish of the season – before securing a share of ninth at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which took him inside the top 60 in the Race to Dubai.
The following months would not be as fruitful for the three-time Challenge Tour winner, however, a strong end to the campaign, which included his biggest pay cheque of his career at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, has seen him return to the top 60 in the Rankings and progress to the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
With 359,922 points separating him and van Rooyen, the 23 year old will need to record a career-best finish to overtake the South African – but anything can happen in the lucrative season-ending event.
