Race To Dubai / Tareq Quiroz / 20 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

As the Race to Dubai rolls on, Tareq Quiroz takes a look at the effect that tournaments such as this are having on the sport.

So, Lee Westwood has finally got another win under his belt. It has been a while and there has even been some crazy suggestions that this serial winner has been bottling it in the closing stages. Total nonsense and now we can get on with talking about something real.

It may have passed you by but Westwood's win in Portugal took him to the front in the Race to Dubai. This innovation was announced with bells and whistles but they have long since petered out as it rather splutters towards the 'climax'. The race is more a war of attrition than a Usain Bolt type affair.

The FedEx Cup drives me crazy with the non-stop chatter about the endless permutations but the Race to Dubai just bores me senseless. If the person who cares about this is out there then please do get in touch.

There was some talk when the Race to Dubai was launched of attracting some top stars like Phil Mickelson. It was billed as a great world tour with vast riches. Unfortunately, due to economic issues, the prize fund has been cut by 25%. I don't exactly feel sorry for these very wealthy stars but it hardly gives off a good impression in its inaugural year.

The Order of Merit and the US Money List were fine concepts and the most successful player on those tours were victorious at the end. These new ideas are designed to get the top players to come out and play lots of end of season events. I am a golf fan and I want to see the best players as often as possible, but not if they are flat.

We don't want our fine sport to end up like tennis where you get to the end of the season and everyone is being patched up just to satisfy commitments. Take a quick look at the world's top twenty and you will see it littered with players who have had to miss some of this season with injury. This is a trend definitely on the up and one that needs to be addressed.

It is a matter of quality over quantity. When this trek to Dubai finally ends at the Dubai World Championships the cash will be divided up and a no doubt enormous trophy handed over. Great for media purposes and a nice excuse to get an oversized cheque out but for me it's not great for the game. Whatever happened to the days when we had the four majors and the odd extra glamour event? I will leave you with my own wise words - change isn't always progress...mark those words tour executives.

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