Golf:The cheque for €13,327 banked by Gareth Maybin after this week's Hong Kong Open won't be the biggest he collects in his career, but it is unquestionably one of the most important.
Maybin’s winnings were enough to move him up from 120th to 117th in the Race to Dubai standings and, in doing so, retain his European Tour card for next year.
Only the top 115 players on the money list retain their playing privileges for the new year and, with three players ahead of him (Fredrik Jacobsen, Ryan Moore and Tom Lewis) not playing the required number of tournaments to count, he is effectively in at 114th.
Damien McGrane’s missed cut might have been more damaging for the Meathman but with those behind him failing to take full advantage he stays at 115th on the list and is also safe for next year.
Peter Lawrie, meanwhile, made sure of his place in the lucrative Race to Dubai finale next week by finishing 21st but Padraig Harrington will miss the Dubai World Championship after failing to force his way into the elite top-60 in the standings.
Rory McIlroy, who won his second title of the year at Hong Kong Golf Club, revealed Lee Westwood’s stunning 62 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge helped spur him on to a crucial victory.
McIlroy produced a superb final-round 65 to finish two shots clear of Gregory Havret on 12 under par, and keep alive his hopes of overhauling Luke Donald for The Race to Dubai. But having seeing Westwood tear up the Sun City course in South Africa, the 22-year-old felt he had to triumph in Hong Kong to protect his world number two ranking.
“One of the goals going out today was to win this tournament to keep myself in with a shout next week. It’s very dependent on what Luke does because he’s got such a big lead but if I can somehow get myself into contention next week, you never know,” he said.
“Another little bit of motivation was that I woke up this morning and saw Lee Westwood shoot 62 in Sun City and I thought I really needed to win to stay above him in the world rankings. It was nice to be able to do both.
“I had a lot to play for, trying to keep my hopes alive for the Race to Dubai and seeing that I needed to go out and produce a really good score if I wanted to keep my number two ranking.”
