Who can win the Race to Dubai and what does McIlroy need to be No 1?
The Race to Dubai season reaches its climax this week at the DP World Tour Championship, live on Sky Sports , with nine players still in with a chance of topping the season-long standings.
Eugenio Chacarra leads the Race to Dubai standings ahead of Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed; McIlroy is looking to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for an eighth time; watch the DP World Tour Championship live throughout the week on Sky Sports Golf
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The Race to Dubai season reaches its climax this week at the DP World Tour Championship, live on Sky Sports , with nine players still in with a chance of topping the season-long standings.
Only the top 50 available players in the rankings are eligible to tee it up at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, where Eugenio Chacarra enters as Race to Dubai leader and looking to become just the third Spaniard to win the Order of Merit.
Compatriot Jon Rahm is among those in contention to lift the Harry Vardon Trophy after his win at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship on Sunday, his sixth Rolex Series win, while Rory McIlroy chases a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title.
McIlroy moved above Patrick Reed into second after his third-place finish in Abu Dhabi, with The Masters champion well-placed to challenge Chacarra and win the Race to Dubai for a fourth successive season.
The winner of the DP World Tour Championship gets 2,000 points, with Casey Jarvis, Aaron Rai, Rahm, Jayden Schaper, Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier all still - mathematically at least - in the running to win the Race to Dubai.
Only Chacarra and McIlroy have complete control of their Race to Dubai destiny, with a win for either guaranteeing No 1 spot, but there are plenty of other scenarios and permutations to determine who will lift the trophy on Sunday.
McIlroy trails Chacarra by 533.93 points but could finish as low as fourth - worth 600 points - and still win the Race to Dubai, depending on how the Spaniard and others perform.
A McIlroy victory would take him to 5,709.86 points and guarantee the Race to Dubai, regardless of other results, while solo second would be enough if Chacarra or Reed doesn't win the tournament.
Solo third is worth 752 points and would take McIlroy to 4,461.86 points, leaving him needing Chacarra to be outside the top 11, Reed to be lower than tied-second and none of Jarvis, Rai or Rahm to win.
McIlroy finishing fourth would require even more to edge Race to Dubai victory, as it would need Chacarra below 46th, Reed outside a share of second and none of the others within 2,000 points of the current lead to win.
Chacarra has topped the standings since winning the DP World India Championship, his third victory of the season after claiming the Open d'Italia and KLM Open in June, although has seen his lead cut after tied-22nd finishes in his last two starts.
Victory guarantees he would join Seve Ballesteros and Rahm as the only Spanish winners of the Order of Merit, as would second spot if McIlroy doesn't win.
Third would secure the Race to Dubai unless McIlroy finishes no higher than solo second and Reed isn't the winner, while solo fourth would require both title rivals outside the top two and Jarvis not to win.
Anything further down the leaderboard brings multiple other scenarios into play, although Chacarra could finish bottom this week in Dubai and still potentially become season champion.
A Reed win would secure the Race to Dubai unless it's Chacarra in second, while a runner-up finish would take him to No 1 if McIlroy is outside the top two and Chacarra lower than a share of third.
For Jarvis - currently fourth - to claim the Race to Dubai, the South African would need to win, McIlroy finish outside the top two and Chacarra to be no higher than fourth.
Rai and Rahm both require victory as well as Chacarra to be outside the top seven and for both McIlroy and Rahm to be lower than second, while Schaper, Fox and Hillier require Chacarra to finish further back to keep their slim hopes alive.
The leading 10 players - not otherwise exempt - on the Race to Dubai Rankings after this week will earn PGA Tour cards for the following season, with plenty of spots still up for grabs.
Chacarra, Reed, Jarvis and Schaper all have their PGA Tour cards wrapped up, with Hillier, Jacob Skov Olesen and Bernd Wiesberger all well-placed to secure dual membership for 2027.
Andy Sullivan, Oliver Lindell and Joe Dean are the others starting the week inside the top 10, although any eligible player in the DP World Tour Championship field still has a chance of moving high enough in the Race to Dubai standings to earn a PGA Tour card.
Spanish quartet Angel Ayora, Nacho Elvira, Angel Hidalgo and David Puig are the next four players in the standings not already exempt, ahead of South Africa's Henni du Plessis and England's Dan Bradbury.
Who will win the Race to Dubai? Watch all four rounds of the DP World Tour Championship live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 7am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Get the latest Sky Sports deals or stream golf and more sport with no contract.
