– Nacho Elvira (-8) reached the 70th hole of the tournament with more than realistic chances of victory, starting this final Sunday round as co-leader of the tournament, although ultimately consecutive bogeys on holes 17 and 18 distanced him from the Korean Junghwan Lee (-11), who surprised everyone with a score of 64 strokes to claim his first victory on the DP World Tour. These kinds of endings sting, but there are also more than enough reasons to see the glass half full in Korea.
– For example, Nacho arrived in Korean lands ranked 92nd in the Race to Dubai and, therefore, clearly outside the Abu Dhabi tournament, where approximately the top 73 in the ranking will enter (depending on absences, as the position moves). And the Spanish player, with his second-place finish in Korea, has risen to 46th place in the Race, securing his presence in the first playoff, in Abu Dhabi, and leaving the path to the very Final in Dubai more than clear, where the top 50 enter. It would take a killer combination for Elvira not to enter.
– Additionally, the final round of Jorge Campillo with 66 strokes, five under par for the day, has taken him to 14th place in the Genesis Championship and, in passing, allowed him to gain four places in the ranking: he is now 44th in the Race to Dubai and therefore has also practically secured a spot in the Final in Dubai.
– Meanwhile, Rafa Cabrera Bello, who also finished 14th in Korea, has remained within the top 70 of the Race to Dubai and will be in Abu Dhabi. It will be there, in the first playoff, where the Canary Islander will need to push to get into the Final in Dubai.
– The case of Ángel Ayora is paradoxical because he finished in Korea within the top ten, in a notable seventh position, which has allowed him to advance three positions in the Race to Dubai (moving from 27th to 24th), and yet he has not gained any ground regarding his main goal, which is to secure one of the ten PGA Tour cards. The young Andalusian arrived in Korea 522 points away from the last of those ten cards and leaves the Genesis Championship 523.54 points away, due to the good performance of Laurie Canter, who finished today with a stratospheric eagle on the 18th hole, sinking a putt from off the green and more than 30 metres from the hole, which served him to secure the second final place, tied with Elvira. The Englishman, for now, has pushed the Frenchman Couvra out of the ten PGA Tour cards and has made the goal more expensive.
The good news for Ayora is, firstly, the magnificent impression left today by his game and attitude, recovering from a criminal quadruple bogey he signed on the 9th hole after hitting two balls out of bounds from the tee. It is true that both in Abu Dhabi and especially in Dubai, many points are distributed, so Ayora still has some room for manoeuvre. Anyway, he will need a great performance in the two final playoffs to secure one of those ten PGA Tour cards.
– What would Ayora need? A mere guideline can be evaluated, as it is impossible to make even approximate calculations with two tournaments to be played and also depending on what other candidates do. Let’s note, for example, that a solo second place in Abu Dhabi grants 1,000 points and a solo third, 565 points; meanwhile, a solo second in Dubai is 1,335, and a solo third, 752. Let’s say (as a mere guideline, it must be insisted) that he would need something like a place among the top three in one of the two final tournaments, or two very solid performances, around sixth or seventh place in both events.
– Eugenio Chacarra, with the same goal as Ayora in this final stretch of the season, has somewhat complicated his life in Korea, as he arrived at the Genesis Championship 647 points away from the tenth PGA Tour card and leaves with a deficit of 714. The Madrid native, as can be seen, has it even more difficult than Ayora: he might need something like a second place in one of the two final tournaments, or two fourth or fifth places in both events.
– Finally, note that Manu Elvira has fallen to 68th in the Race to Dubai after missing the cut in Korea and will play for his place in the Final in Dubai in Abu Dhabi. The same goes for Alejandro del Rey, although he has it somewhat less complicated, as he will arrive in Abu Dhabi ranked 57th after playing all four days in Korea.
