Danny Willett will aim to bounce back from a “terrible week” in Shanghai when he tees off at the Turkish Airlines Open looking to resume the lead in the Race to Dubai.
Masters champion Willett was usurped at the top of the standings this week by Henrik Stenson following a missed cut at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. In contrast, Stenson, the reigning British Open champion, finished in a tie for second, while Rory McIlroy — currently third in the Race to Dubai — also made up ground on Willett by finishing in a tie for fourth.
More from Race to Dubai:
• Henrik Stenson: Race to Dubai to go down to the wire and 'that's the way we like it'
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Three tournaments remain this season to decide the winner of the Race to Dubai, starting on Thursday in Antalya, followed by the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. The DP World Tour Championship then concludes the season in Dubai in two weeks.
With Stenson and McIlroy both missing this week’s Turkish Airlines Open, Willett has the opportunity to regain the lead, but the world No 10 is aware he must play better than is recent showing.
“I had a terrible week last week,” he said. “It was one of those things that anything that could go wrong, went wrong. I didn’t play great, and just to put the icing on the cake, Henrik and Rory both finished up there.
“It’s unfortunate that Henrik’s jumped me but I was never going to win the Race to Dubai with the amount I was on. I always had to bump it forward and that is still the aim. I’ve got to go out there this week, and hopefully the golf game gets a little better. There’s still a lot of golf left, it’s just I haven’t been playing very well.”
McIlroy’s Race to Dubai chances appear slim given the Northern Irishman will also miss the Nedbank Golf Challenge next week, although Stenson will return in South Africa.
It therefore looks likely to be a shootout between Willett and Stenson that will be decided at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
“This year with Henrik, Rory, and myself all up there, Dubai in a few weeks should be really, really good,” Willett said.
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