Dutch delight as Luiten’s home win fires him into Race to Dubai top 20
Dutchman Joost Luiten and the man he defeated in a play off to win the KLM Open in the Netherlands, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, have broken into the top 20 after the latest round of The European Tour’s Race to Dubai.
Although both men had already guaranteed their places at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – to be staged on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from 14-17 November – their performances at the weekend have seen them move closer to the top ten and a share of the $3.75 million Race to Dubai Bonus Pool.
The Bonus Pool is divided among the leading ten players in The Race to Dubai as calculated at the conclusion of the 2013 DP World Tour Championship, which also offers a prize-fund of US$8 million and is open to the top 60 players on The European Tour.
“You hope you can win every event you play in but to win your home event is a dream come true – it’s what all Dutch players want to win,” said Luiten, whose third European Tour victory has fired him up to 11th in The Race to Dubai, to the top of the European Ryder Cup Rankings and back into the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“Basically it is the best week ever to win. It was very tough and Miguel was playing really well. I just had to stay patient and take my chances. It’s a great result – top 60 in the world, Ryder Cup points and into the WGC-HSBC Champions, hopefully it just goes on from here.”
Luiten’s second tournament win of the year has also seen him move to season’s earnings of € 1,010,068, which is the first time in his career that the 27 year-old has won more than €1 million in a single European Tour season. He is also the first Dutchman to have won twice in the same European Tour season.
“Joost has been incredibly consistent this year with top five finishes at The Irish Open and the ISPA Handa Wales Open adding to his wins in Austria and Holland – he certainly deserves his place in the DP World Tour Championship and we look forward to seeing both Joost and Miguel back at the Earth course in November,” said Nick Tarratt, European Tour International Director, Dubai Office.
The Race to Dubai moves from Holland to Italy this week with the staging of the
€1.5 million 70th Open D’Italia Lindt at Golf Club Torino in Turin from Thursday (19 September).
Tickets for the four-day DP World Tour Championship are free of charge and can be obtained by registering online at the event website www.DPWTC.com.
