The inaugural Race to Dubai has run its course, been an unmitigated success, and been won by a worthy winner. Like the FedEx Cup in years before, fears of an anti-climactic final week were rife, but the Dubai World Championship proved to be all it should be and more. Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy went toe-to-toe, until the last 27 holes at least, and the better man won.
No one can deny Westwood this triumph. European No. 1 in 2000, he has come on so much since then. He won six times that year, but he looks altogether more the finished article today.
Westwood had some very tough times in the intervening years; before he got his game back on track a few years ago, he fell out of the world's top 250 players, disappeared of the radar, and apparently considered hanging up his clubs. Let's be thankful he didn't.
Back to his career-highest 4th in the world rankings, he played the golf of his life in Dubai last weekend, shooting 66-64 to take the tournament by six strokes. On Sunday he played simply beautiful golf; his long game is always excellent; on Sunday, he holed everything as well.
His vanquished foes have nothing to be ashamed of. Harrington and McIlroy will look back at costly shots on the closing holes in several rounds, but the fact was that Lee was unbeatable this week.
Nor was he a man to win the Race with a few big money weeks. Like Robert Karlsson last year, it was a year of consistency. Westwood had just two wins, but 13 top-10s this year out of 26 tournaments - not a bad stat - including ties for 3rd in both the Open (where it could have been so much more) and the US PGA. He looks set to take on any challenge now, and I'm confident he'll have a major within the next two years.
Rory McIlroy will no doubt be disappointed not to finish as Number 1, but for him to do what he has done in his second year on Tour is nothing short of immense. He got off to a great start in the Race last November, and kept it going all year long, including winning in Dubai early in 2009, and notching up some big results in the majors and WGCs along the way.
He stills sees everything as a learning experience, and the other guys on Tour must be pretty worried about what he's still learning. His game has matured since that wonderful Open in 2007, and he's held his composure through tricky tests all season.
I'm not going to predict when his first major crown will come (not too far away though), but there's no doubt that he'll win more than once next season.
He's planning on playing both sides of the pond next season, which requires a lot of golf, and I hope he hasn't made the move to the States too soon. Time will tell.
Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer were the other two men in with a chance of winning the Race to Dubai, but neither of them really stayed in the mix as the week progressed. Like McIlroy however, they're still young men, and their hour will come.
Ross McGowan continued his excellent season to finish six strokes behind Westwood (no mean feat this week), and has given himself a healthy start towards a maiden Ryder Cup appearance. But that's another blog....
Padraig Harrington may not have been in with a shout of the money list title this year, but he certainly showed the world that his game is well and truly back on track, after months of tinkering with his swing. He won't be happy finishing the year without a win, but he knows that this year was about setting up a platform for the future, and he's done that alright. Those majors have only whetted his appetite, and he looks keen to take on Tiger for every prize in the game now.
One season ends and another begins. There's seldom a week without golf of some sort or another. The Race to Dubai is won, Westwood has his glory. It's all about to start again though, another 50-tournament run to see who'll do it in Dubai this time next year. There's a lot in between now and then - majors, WGCs, the Ryder Cup.....
So let's just sit back, relax, and let them entertain us.
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