STARS FACE DILEMMA OVER SAUDI CONTEST

Derek Lawrenson

The Race to Dubai draws to its end at the DP World Tour championship this week, where the elephant in the clubhouse will undoubtedly be the controversial new event planned for saudi arabia next February as part of the Gulf swing.

Dustin Johnson and masters champion Patrick Reed have already been confirmed as participants, while it is presumably only the current climate that has prevented the announcement of more star turns. in a recent interview with Sportsmail, european Tour chief executive keith Pelley disclosed that other big names such as the two men taking turns to be world No1 — Justin Rose and this week’s incumbent, Brooks koepka — have also been signed up, as well as plenty more.

But when is a good time to announce that in the midst of the international outrage felt following the pre-meditated killing of the journalist Jamal khashoggi at the saudi consulate in istanbul? ‘We’re monitoring the situation,’ said Pelley last week, as calls for the event to be cancelled have grown. it’s certainly a fraught decision for the canadian, as the unease felt by many at the staging of high-profile sporting events in the kingdom has increased.

it’s not a vast leap of the imagination to suspect the saudis are using their oil wealth to lure sport into something of a devil’s pact, to present a more acceptable persona to cover up human rights abuses.

But are we in the Western world really in a position to take the high ground and dictate where sports events should be staged?

Wouldn’t the saudis be entitled to look at the bewildering events taking place in america these days — most notably the number of mass shootings — and point an accusing finger of their own?

at Jumeirah estates this week, the principal focus will rightly be on the moliwood boys, Francesco molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, the only two possible winners of the Race to Dubai. But you can be sure behind closed doors, the elephant will be sucking all the air from the room.