The fifth place of Ángel Ayora and the fourteenth solo position of Nacho Elvira at the Qatar Masters allow the two Spanish players to improve their situation both in the Race to Dubai and in the world ranking. The first serves for a good handful of objectives, from the PGA Tour card to the qualification for the Final in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, also getting a foot in some Majors like the US Open. The second is very useful thinking about the majors and immediately and especially in the PGA Championship, which will be held in May at the Aronimink course in Philadelphia. As you know, the top 100 in the world qualify.
Ayora’s fifth place in Doha, tied with Bradbury, Lindell, and Soderberg, translates into a rise of seven positions in the Race to Dubai to place 17th, while in terms of the world ranking, he will be around 112th place. He came from 119th. There is still a way to go, but it’s better to gain ground than to lose it. The goal remains completely within reach.
Meanwhile, Nacho Elvira, who finished with a good card of 69 strokes without bogeys, remains in seventh position in the Race to Dubai, a place of privilege, and also climbs a few positions in the world ranking. Specifically, he will move from 117th to approximately 113th place. You know that the calculations are not exact until all the week’s tournaments are finished. In this case, the WM Phoenix Open of the PGA Tour is yet to be completed.
The one who has made the most of Sunday has been South African Jayden Schaper. He signed the best round of the day (65 strokes) and got into the top 10. It doesn’t help him maintain the first position in the DP World Tour ranking, as Patrick Reed has taken the throne with his victory, but it does secure his second place and also allows him to consolidate in the world top 50. Meanwhile, Reed, for his part, will be around the 20th position in the world ranking.
The next stop of the DP World Tour will be the Magical Kenya Open in two weeks. Next week there is no event in the European circuit. There in Africa, we will have the Armada almost complete, except for Nacho Elvira and Rafa Cabrera Bello, who have decided to take a break. Right after Kenya, there will be two consecutive weeks in South Africa.
It should be remembered that, beyond that world top 100, there is another way to qualify for the PGA Championship via DP World Tour. It is the Asian Swing, the sequence of tournaments that will take place between 19 March and 3 May and will visit the following countries: China, India, China again, and Turkey, which replaces last year’s Singapore tournament. The top three of this Asian Swing will qualify for the PGA. Last year, Madrid’s Eugenio Chacarra achieved it through this route.
