Sunday 8 November 2015 10:03, UK
Rory McIlroy faces a huge battle to retain his Race to Dubai title after Danny Willett piled on the pressure at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Willett soared up the leaderboard with a stunning 10-under 62 on the final day which saw him finish only three shots adrift of champion Russell Knox in Shanghai.
The Englishman now trails McIlroy by only 74,214 points ahead of next week's BMW Masters, and Willett will be confident of taking a lead into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship with McIlroy opting not to play at Lake Malaren.
"This could be a very big result for me. With Rory not playing next week, I could gain a few more points on him and give us a nice buzz going into the final week into Dubai," said Willett.
"I've been determined all year, ever since I got to number one straight off the bat at the Nedbank. I though, it would be good to stay up there all year. After that big win, I kept pressing hard and I've been able to post some really good numbers around the world. Hopefully I can keep that going for two more weeks."
McIlroy's challenge in Shanghai was severely hampered by a bout of food poisoning, but he closed with his best round of the week and is looking forward to going head to head with Willett with the European No 1 prize up for grabs.
He said: "I saw Danny got off to a great start and then he kept it going. It's a great round of golf, and it keeps the Race to Dubai very exciting. He's got a great chance to do something next week at the BMW [Masters]. He's obviously playing very well, so he has a great chance to creep up on me or even overtake me.
"But I still rate my chances. I obviously know the Earth course very well and Dubai is a bit of a second home for me, plus I'm going for the double after winning there earlier in the season. So I'm looking forward to it. I always enjoy it there, and I've obviously done well there before."
McIlroy admitted he again struggled on the greens in Shanghai, but he insists he is feeling more confident with the putter as each tournament progresses.
"I feel like I played well enough to win this week. I just didn't hole enough putts and that's sort of been the story of my season, well, at least, for the last couple of months anyway," he added.
"But it's getting better. I feel like every tournament I play, I'm getting a little bit better and hopefully I can continue in that trend and go into Dubai and play well again."
