Tommy good bet to win the Race

TOMMY Fleetwood is backing himself to win the dip for the line in the photo finish to the Race to Dubai over the next four days.

Fleetwood has set the pace for most of the season thanks to wins in Abu Dhabi and France, two runners-up finishes and a tie for fourth in the US Open, but has been hauled in by back-to-back wins for Justin Rose ahead of the concluding DP World Tour Championship.

“I would put my money on me. Every day,” said Fleetwood, who holds a lead of 256,738 points over Rose with Sergio Garcia the only other player who can become European No 1 in the desert.

“It will be a perfect way to end a year that has been amazing for me, the biggest year of my career by a long way.

“You do look at individual events like the Majors. They are the ones that everybody wants to win. But it is a FLEETWOOD: Big year bit harsh that a lot of people’s careers are defined by four events. At the end of the day anybody can have a hot week with the putter and win.

“Over the course of a year, it’s a lot more difficult and it does hold a lot of respect with your peers, having that consistency throughout a year.

“The list of players that have won it is great. I’m either going to join that list or the list of great players is going to carry on with one of the other two. I want it to be me.”

Rose, who needs a top-five finish to have a chance of pipping Fleetwood at the post, won what was then called the Order of Merit in 2007.

“It’s one of my biggest achievements in the game,” said the former US Open champion. “Any time you beat world-class players over the course of a year, it often means a lot more than it does winning in a week.”