Ilonen moves into top 10 in the Race to Dubai with Volvo World Match Play Championship win

Finland’s Mikko Ilonen defeated Number One seed Henrik Stenson in the final of the Volvo World Match Play Championship to move into the top ten in The Race to Dubai rankings while Scott Hend, playing in the week’s other European Tour event, claimed his maiden title at the Hong Kong Open. “I see Henrik as one of the world’s top players obviously but I see him as my friend,” said Ilonen, who beat the Netherland’s Joost Luiten 2 and 1 in the semi-finals on his way to becoming the first Finnish player to win the Volvo World Match Play Championship. The victory moved him from 17th to tenth place in The Race to Dubai, putting him in with a great chance of a share of the Bonus Pool awarded to the top 15 players on the rankings following the conclusion of the DP World Tour Championship taking place on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 November.
 
“He didn’t intimidate me at all. We’ve played so much golf together over the years, so I felt quite comfortable playing with him.”
 
Ilonen won 3 and 1 over Stenson after carding four birdies and not a single bogey in the final to win his second event of the season after triumphing at the Irish Open in the summer.
 
“This win will give me a good kick for the end of the season to reach the goals I’ve set for the year,” said Ilonen, who finished tied for 19th at last year’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
 
Stenson, who is the defending Race to Dubai and DP World Tour Championship champion, moves from fifth to third place in The Race to Dubai after his runner-up finish at The London Club.
 
“I actually exceeded my expectations for the week,” said the World Number Five, who defeated Francesco Molinari, Thongchai Jaidee, Jonas Blixt and George Coetzee on his way to the finals.
 
“I didn’t play my best. I was a bit unlucky on a couple of putts but no question, Mikko didn’t make any mistakes really and when he did, he recovered well. So all the credit to him for his fine performance this week.”
 
The Swede made it to the final after he overcame Coetzee in a thrilling semi-final that saw him sink a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the match.
Coetzee, who replaced the injured Thomas Bjorn just days before the tournament began, lost in the in the third/fourth place play-off to Luiten on the 19th hole.
 
HONG KONG OPEN
 
Meanwhile in the Hong Kong Open it was Scott Hend who celebrated his maiden European Tour title by defeating the Philippine’s Angelo Que in a play-off to move from 149th to 89th in The Race to Dubai.
 
The Australian will need to string together a few more good finishes to get himself into the top 60 in the rankings in time for the season finale in Dubai.
England’s Mark Foster, whose only win on the European Tour came 11 years ago at the Dunhill Championship, finished fourth in Hong Kong to jump from 102 to 88 in The Race to Dubai rankings.
                                                              
He too will need a strong finish to the year to secure his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
 
 
The top 10 European Tour Race to Dubai Rankings as of 19 October following the Hong Kong Open and the Volvo World Match Play Championship:
 
1.    Rory MCILROY                    €5,400,699
2.    Sergio GARCIA                    €2,275,712
3.    Henrik STENSON                €1,941,230
4.    Jamie DONALDSON           €1,890,558
5.    Thomas BJORN                   €1,780,152
6.    Martin KAYMER                   €1,570,936
7.    Victor DUBUISSON             €1,551,699
8.    Justin ROSE                         €1,503,781
9.    Joost LUITEN                       €1,500,777
10. Mikko ILONEN                      €1,483,208