Peter Hanson, having beaten Rory McIlroy in a head-to-head battle at the $US7 million ($A6.79 million) BMW Masters at Lake Malaren on Sunday, is now aiming to topple the world number one on the European Tour money list.
Hanson’s winning cheque of $US1.16 million ($A1.13 million) in Shanghai on Sunday means the Swede is now McIlroy’s nearest challenger, 812,572 euros ($A1.02 million) behind in the Race to Dubai standings.
In Shanghai the Northern Irishman increased his lead by securing his ninth runner-up spot on the European Tour.
But a victory at the HSBC Champions, which begins on Thursday at Mission Hills in the southern China city of Shenzhen, would catapult Hanson ahead of McIlroy, who has decided to skip the event.
McIlroy, who left Shanghai quickly Sunday for his money-spinning exhibition 18-hole date with Tiger Woods in the “Duel at Jinsha Lake” in Zhengzhou on Monday, was clearly frustrated that he had not been able to seal a victory at Lake Malaren.
“I played well but missed a few opportunities on the front nine. I missed four or five short putts in a row.”
A win could have all but sealed the money list title even before he gets to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of November.
But now his decision to play the exhibition in central China for a rumoured $US2 million ($A1.94 million) purse — instead of heading south for another competitive payday at Mission Hills — could cost the 23-year-old dear in his quest to emulate Luke Donald in 2011 and win the money list on both sides of the Atlantic.
He has left the door open for the likes of in-form Hanson and Justin Rose, who lies just E76,000 ($A95,700) further back.
Rose, the world number five from England, also tees up in Shenzhen this week.
After leaving Zhengzhou on Tuesday McIlroy will jet off to the Bulgarian capital Sofia, to watch his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki play in the final Women’s Tennis Association event of the year instead of joining the world’s best in the WGC event.
There is total prize money in excess of 20 million euros to play for in the final four European tour events that Hanson intends to play.
So McIlroy’s decision to play only the Hong Kong Open and Dubai while off chasing the Chinese yuan could yet come back to haunt him.
