The Race to Dubai

At precisely 9.25am on a cool, overcast day in Shanghai a little over a year ago, the familiar dulcet tones of official starter, Ivor Robson, shattered the still morning air. With the simple words 'On the tee, from Sweden ... Robert Karlsson' golfing history was made. The Race to Dubai was off and running.

Golfing dignitaries, including European Tour chief executive George O'Grady, gathered around the first tee in anticipation as Karlsson struck the first blow in the HSBC Champions tournament, the initial hurdle out of 51 to be cleared before The Race to Dubai champion is confirmed at the end of a 382-day campaign involving players from 40 nations.

Amid the burst of camera shutters recording the historic moment, Karlsson contrived to make a birdie ... the perfect way to start a contest which will conclude this week at the Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE.

Since that first hole we have witnessed some scintillating golf, a wealth of emerging talent, keenly fought battles and intense competition. This weekend the top 60 players in The Race to Dubai rankings will contest the $7.5million prize fund - and the $7.5million bonus pool for the leading 15 players at the end of the inaugural event.

Along the way players from 16 different nations have triumphed in The Race to Dubai, with England winning the highest number of trophies - nine - thanks to a glut of champions in the final few weeks of the season. The United States are not far behind with six, while Australia and Sweden have each had five winners and Argentina four. We have witnessed 31 hole-in-ones, 15 first-time winners and 13 new course records. Rory McIlroy, who heads to Dubai just behind Lee Westwood in The Race to Dubai rankings, has had the most top five finishes this season with 10 - twice as many as his closest challengers, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Westwood and Martin Kaymer.

Sergio Garcia was the man who set the ball rolling, beating England's Oliver Wilson in a play-off to capture the HSBC title, going into the winter break as leader in The Race to Dubai.

Five players have tasted victory twice this season: Richard Sterne, Thongchai Jaidee, Paul Casey, Simon Dyson and Kaymer, who enjoyed back to back wins at the Open de France and the Scottish Open.

McIlroy emerged as a strong contender for The Race to Dubai title in the first part of the season. The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland lost out in a play-off to Lin Wen-tang from Chinese Taipei for the Hong Kong Open, but won millions of admirers worldwide with his maiden European Tour success in the Dubai Desert Classic.

Victory catapulted McIlroy into the top 20 on the official world golf ranking and set the tone for a consistent first full season on the European Tour, by the end of which he was close to returning to the top of The Race to Dubai rankings, a position he briefly occupied in October.

So many permutations and calculations can be made, but one thing is for certain: we are in for a mouth-watering treat in Dubai.