Molinari makes monumental Race to Dubai move after third-place WGC finish as Gallacher wins Hero Indian Open

Francesco Molinari carried forward his scintillating match play form from last year’s Ryder Cup, where he won five points from five matches, and rode it to third place at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play to finish as the highest-placed European Tour player. The Italian defeated Lucas Bjerregaard in the consolation match to catapult 99 spots from 113^th to 14^th in the rankings after earning 565 points.

The Italian looked the likeliest winner of the tournament as it got to the later stages but was eliminated in dramatic fashion in the semi-final by eventual winner Kevin Kisner on their final hole before earning some pride and beating Bjerregaard.

The Dane, who finished 13^th in last year’s Race to Dubai, showed heroic form in his WGC Match Play debut, defeating the likes of two-time DP World Tour Championship winner Henrik Stenson and childhood hero Tiger Woods before losing out to Matt Kuchar in the semi-final. This result has helped the 27 year old surge up to 20^th from 115^th in the Race to Dubai as he looks to compete in his third season-ending DP World Tour Championship in succession at Jumeirah Golf Estates later this year.

Louis Oosthuizen is on the cusp of the top of the Race to Dubai standings after finishing fifth and earning 298 Race to Dubai points to rise from 8th to 2^nd – with current leader Shane Lowry firmly in his sights only 183.5 points ahead. 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia also finished in fifth after losing to Kuchar in the quarter-finals to climb up to ninth place from 17^th in the rankings.

Meanwhile, the Hero Indian Open was played alongside the WGC event and there was an emotional first win in five years for Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher, which propelled him from 259^th to 26^th in the Race to Dubai. The 44 year old, who had his 18 year old son, Jack, as his caddy, bounced back from a quadruple bogey with five birdies on the back nine for a closing 71 on the demanding Gary Player-designed DLF Golf and Country Club to beat Masahiro Kawamura by a shot. The Japanese runner-up, who has been impressive in his rookie season on the European Tour, rose from 61st to 24th in the Race to Dubai as he looks to make his DP World Tour Championship debut in November where the top 50 players in the rankings will compete for a first prize of US$3 million.

Jorge Campillo came close yet again to winning his first European Tour title after finishing two shots behind Gallacher in third spot. This is the third time in the last month that the consistent Spaniard has finished in the top three, which has helped him climb from 27^th to 17^th in the Race to Dubai.

After this week with a colossus of points on offer across these two events, Lowry is still leading the Race to Dubai with Oosthuizen in second, Justin Harding third, Ian Poulter fourth and Kurt Kitayama in fifth, but there could be a huge shift in the order with the first Major of the season, The Masters, up next in the schedule.

The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings will contest the season-ending US$8million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from November 21-24 where US$3 million will be up for grabs for the winner, making it the richest prize in world golf.

Top 10 Race to Dubai Rankings after the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play and the Hero Indian Open