“Race to Dubai” Golf.. Spawn wins third elite title, McIlroy ignites competition for the lead

London, Britain – American JJ Spawn won the BMW PGA Championship, the third Rolex Elite Series championship on the DB World Golf Tour. Meanwhile, Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy strengthened his position in second place in the “Race to Dubai” classification. To ignite the competition for the title of champion of the season as the finals scheduled in Abu Dhabi and Dubai approach next November.

Spawn won the title on Sunday after finishing the tournament, which was held at Wentworth FC in Surrey, England, with 17 under par. Two strokes ahead of four players who shared second place with 15 strokes under par. They are Rory McIlroy, Englishman Ray Aaron, Australian Adam Scott, and Spaniard Manuel Elvira.

Spawn won a prize money exceeding 1.5 million US dollars, becoming the third American to win the championship title after Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel. The first player to win the title in his first participation since 2015.

Chasing the lead

For his part, McIlroy, the title holder of the “Race to Dubai”, continued his pursuit of the top spot after collecting 532 points, raising his score to 3115 points in second place. Reducing the gap with American leader Patrick Reid to 305 points, as the latter has 3,423 points.

On the other hand, UAE player Adrian Otaygui succeeded in reaching the decisive two rounds, and finished the tournament in 39th place with 8 under par strokes. To add 52.8 points to his tally, and rise to 42nd place in the “Race to Dubai” classification, with a total of 944 points.

Otaygui continues his efforts to qualify for the season finals hosted by the UAE next November. The top 70 players in the rankings will qualify for the Abu Dhabi Championship, scheduled from November 5 to 8 at Yas Links Club. Before the top 50 players qualified for the DB World Tour tournament at Jumeirah Real Estate Club in Dubai. During the period from November 12 to 15, which witnesses the crowning of the season champion.

The BMW PGA Championship is the 35th round of the Race to Dubai season out of 42 championships, and the fourth in the BAC 9 series. There are only five tournaments left before deciding who will qualify for the finals. The FedEx French Open will start this week with the participation of Otaygui.