As Lee Westwood is crowned champion in the Far East, Karl MacGinty examines how he outlasted everyone to capture 'the Race'.

NOVEMBER 2008

IT started with a kiss ... the peck Sergio Garcia planted on the HSBC Champions Trophy at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai. The 13-month, 102,000-mile Race to Dubai had opened in style as Garcia's second win in three weeks propelled him to No 2 in the World.

Yet the Spaniard, lovelorn for months after his springtime break-up with girlfriend Morgan Leigh -- daughter of Greg Norman -- and constantly at odds with his putter, wouldn't win again. Instead, Rory McIlroy cemented his reputation as the new 'El Nino' of golf when he cracked the elite world top-50 courtesy of an exciting play-off defeat to Weng-Tan Lin in that month's UBS Hong Kong Open.

DECEMBER

GARETH MAYBIN made a quality start to his first full season on the European Tour when he took Richard Sterne, the home favourite after his win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, all the way to sudden death in the South African Open.

The affable Ballyclare clubman had earned his card by finishing fourth in the Challenge Tour rankings in 2008 and registered six top-10s this year to claim a prestige place in last weekend's Dubai World Championship. McIlroy, tied third with Lee Westwood and Ernie Els at the South Africa Open, moved to World No 40, ensuring his debut at April's US Masters.

JANUARY 2009

PAUL CASEY survived a scare before clinching his ninth European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Six ahead with eight to play, he bogeyed three of the next four and needed a nervy two-putt from 12 feet to beat Louis Oosthuizen and defending champ Martin Kaymer by one. Yet he went on to his first US Tour victory at April's Shell Houston Open, followed by the BMW PGA at Wentworth.

Though the second half of his season was wrecked by a torn rib cage muscle, Casey will be an ace in Europe's Ryder Cup pack at Celtic Manor. Paul McGinley was pivotal in persuading Colin Montgomerie to accept the European captaincy at the Tournament Committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, passionately insisting a current player must be chosen after the Valhalla debacle.

FEBRUARY

McILROY opened the month in dramatic fashion by clinching his first Tour victory on the 72nd hole of the Dubai Desert Classic.

After bogeys on 15, 16 and 17 allowed Justin Rose get within one stroke of his lead, McIlroy's approach to 18 bounded into the back bunker, leaving a treacherous up-and-down for par. Yet he brilliantly pitched and putted for the title before being embraced on the green by parents Rosie and Gerry.

This joyful moment was followed by another at the Johnnie Walker in Perth as New Zealand amateur Danny Lee became the youngest European Tour winner at 18 years, 213 days.

Tiger Woods made his long-awaited return from injury at the Accenture Match Play in Tucson, an event won impressively by Geoff Ogilvy.

MARCH

SEEING McIlroy vault to world No 16 on the back of his win in Dubai rankled with some US observers.

Jeff Rude wrote in a blog on Golfweek.com: "If long-time scribes such as myself haven't seen you, you can't be in the top-30 in the world."

Yet it was love at first sight for many American fans as the Irish teen followed up on an impressive quarter-final finish at the Match Play with heart-warming performances at the Honda Classic and CA World Championship at Doral.

APRIL

BELFAST'S Michael Hoey brilliantly came from five behind to win on Sunday afternoon as he beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in a play-off at the Estoril Open de Portugal.

The month's biggest headline-maker was Angel Cabrera following his extra-time victory over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell at the US Masters. Meanwhile, McIlroy's return to Augusta next April is keenly anticipated after he played the final 10 holes in six under to claim a top-20 finish at his first Masters.

MAY

THE inaugural '3' Irish Open will forever enjoy pride of place in European Tour history after Shane Lowry, a 22-year-old amateur from Clara, Offaly, led Europe's finest professionals a merry dance in howling wind and driving rain at Baltray.

Victory was sealed in a three-hole playoff with Robert Rock.

Lowry turned professional a fortnight later and, after a settling-in period on Tour -- a process in which new caddie Dermot Byrne played his part -- clinched his first top-10 as a pro by finishing third in yesterday's Dunlop-Phoenix Golf Championship in Japan.

JUNE

LUCAS GLOVER (29) won the US Open on its return to the infamous Black Course at New York's Bethpage State Park. Yet this was America's national open in name only after torrential rain doused the usually fiery fairways and turned rock-hard greens into playdough.

JULY

THE first half of Padraig Harrington's season was a write-off as he tried to solve a long-standing riddle in his swing. He chalked up his fifth missed cut in a row by the French Open adding up to an unprecedented eight in all for the Dubliner.

It took a session with coach Bob Torrance on Monday before The British Open to put the Dubliner back on track, though he'd finish tied 65th at Turnberry, allowing the defending champion to watch on TV as Tom Watson (59) tried to complete an unforgettable victory.

Sadly, the veteran's legs gave way in the four-hole play-off, permitting Stewart Cink to perform the saddest title snatch of the season.

Martin Kaymer brilliantly won back-to-back at the French and Scottish Opens -- before undermining his Race to Dubai prospects by breaking several bones in his foot in a Karting accident.

AUGUST

LIKE Angel Cabrera, YE Yang would not play the requisite 12 events to maintain full European Tour membership and qualify for last weekend's Race to Dubai finale.

Yet the South Korean produced the shot of the season into 18 on Sunday at Hazeltine for the birdie that sealed his victory at the USPGA Championship.

With respect to Westwood, Yang was undisputed 'Man of the Year' on all Tours as the first Asian to win a Major and the first player to take the lead from Tiger on the final day at one of golf's grand slams.

Westwood tied third at his second successive Major, this time with McIlroy, signalling the start of a thrilling end-of-season duel between these two.

Meanwhile, Harrington contended at The Bridgestone and the USPGA before finding a watery grave at both.

SEPTEMBER

Harrington's dramatic turnaround continued at the FedEx Cup play-offs in the US, as he extended his run of successive top-10 finishes to six in seven weeks, suggesting the Dubliner once again was approaching his best and might, after all, press for the Race to Dubai title on his return to Europe.

The month's most impressive winner was young Swede Alexander Noren, who pipped McIlroy in the Omega European Masters with weekend rounds of 63 and 66 at Crans-sur-Sierre.

OCTOBER

SECOND place behind Simon Dyson at The Dunhill Links Championship in St Andrews put McIlroy ahead in The Race to Dubai for the first time, though it would be short-lived as Westwood claimed pole position with his first victory in 25 months at the Portuguese Masters, a massive confidence-boost for the 36-year-old Englishman after an astonishing run of three play-off defeats; two near-misses at the Majors and 26 top-10's since his previous Tour win in September 2007.

NOVEMBER

WHILE Westwood lorded it over his International Sports Management stablemate McIlroy after Portugal, the youngster maintained a dignified silence after fourth place in the HSBC, clinched with a final round 63, and a runner-up finish at Hong Kong, courtesy of a closing 64, put him back on top of the Race to Dubai table.

Phil Mickelson added the HSBC title to the CA World Golf Championship at Doral (and US Tour Championship), while Woods won for the seventh time in 2009 at the co-sanctioned Aussie Masters, though neither played enough on the European schedule to qualify for the Race to Dubai.

In all, six players had been No 1 in the Race: Casey occupied top spot for 12 weeks; Garcia and Ogilvy for 11; Martin Kaymer for six, followed by Westwood on four and McIlroy on three.

Yet the Englishman was there when it counted most -- yesterday.

- Karl MacGinty

Irish Independent