McIlroy, who is second in the race after winning the UBS Hong Kong Open, will have to win the Dubai World Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estate, to be crowned number one.
Except for a back-to-back win by McIlroy, or some other divine intervention by Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald should be making golfing history, winning the both the US Tour and European Tour money lists - an amazing achievement and one which confirms his right to be at the top of the world rankings - which many have criticised after his failure to win a major championship.
On the other side of the pond, it is good to see Tiger back and eyeing up the top in the Chevron World Challenge, California. Watching Tiger on the closing holes he looked close to his best, with a much improved and steeper swing plane into the ball, eliminating the big block right, which has plagued his drives for so long. There seems to be a new purpose and ‘that look’ in the eyes of a Tiger on the prowl once more for success.
So, while we layer ourselves up and scrape the ice off the car windscreens here in the UK, I know we can warm our cockles from watching some great golfing action from around the world this winter.
I’ll be paying particular attention to the ever-increasing use of the ‘belly putter’ to see if this trend has substance or merely a case of distraction for those looking to find the ultimate line and length while avoiding a twitchy stroke.
It just leaves me to wish you all a fabulous Christmas and remember if you are still looking for the ultimate present, check out my top 10 Christmas gifts for 2011.
