IT’S that time of the season when those in the upper echelons of the European Tour attempt to fill their boots with riches and go on the kind of drooling, money-chasing stampede that would make the Klondike Gold Rush look like a modest queue at the dole office.
Over the next few weeks, a total of $22.5 million will be up for grabs in the circuit’s cash-soaked Final Series, a three-stop bonanza which takes flight with this week’s Turkish Airlines Open at the shimmering Regnum Carya resort in Antalya.
“You have to make as much money as possible,” declared Richie Ramsay as he rubbed his hands with relish at the prospect of shoving some considerable sums into an already healthy bank account.
It’s about more than feathering the financial nest, of course. In the ruthless, dog-eat-dog world of the professional scene, pounds, euros or dollars means prizes, points and a potential presence at some of the biggest shows in town.
“It’s based around money and you can gain so much from that,” added the canny Aberdonian. “Money relates to rankings and that in turn relates to what events you get into. These next couple of weeks can get you access to the Majors and WGCs as well as huge world ranking points.”
It’s been a profitable, purposeful season for Ramsay. At 24th on the Race to Dubai, he is on course to eclipse his highest ever finish among Europe’s elite which was 26th in 2012.
Ahead of this week’s showpiece occasion in Turkey, Ramsay’s earnings for the current campaign stand at £923,214, the most he’s ever racked up in a single season.
Ramsay, with three tour wins to his name down the years, has not won in 2017 but the hefty £467,885 he picked up for a second place finish at the Irish Open in the summer was much more than he gained at any of those aforementioned trio of victories.
Over this series of three events, there are no cuts so it’s often a case of pushing for a final flourish and loading up the wheelbarrow with riches. “You have to make a decision,” said Ramsay. “Do you play smart and adopt a kind of passive aggressive approach or do you go flat out for three tournaments?
“If I get one event, for example, where I am playing flat out and I’m holing putts then I could finish third. The money for that would be ten times more than if you finish 40th three times. I’m not quite sure how to approach it yet.”
Whatever way he decides to tackle affairs, Ramsay knows the next three tournaments could make a good year into a very good one. “It could be a ground breaking year,” he said.
For Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, 2017 has been something of a momentous year and the Englishman would dearly love to cap it off by winning the Race to Dubai and being crowned Europe’s No1 for the first time.
Two sizeable wins, in Abu Dhabi and France, allied to a second in the WGC-Mexico Championship and a fourth in the US Open have helped propel him to the top of the order.
Becoming a dad a few weeks ago has mirrored this huge sense of satisfaction with life off the course too.
Pressure is par for the course in the cut-and-thrust of tournament golf and Fleetwood had that heaped on him in shovel loads in the summer when the Open was played at his home course of Royal Birkdale.
Under quite remorseless, fevered scrutiny, he opened with a 76 but rallied over the next three days to finish in the top 30. It was all part of the day job for the level-headed Fleetwood.
“There is pressure on you but it’s a good pressure,” said Fleetwood, who leads the money list from Sergio Garcia with Justin Rose, fresh from his comeback win in the WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday in third.
“I mean, a few years ago I needed a top-10 to keep my tour card. I would rather have this pressure now than what I had then.”
“If you had said at the start of the year that I’m going to be doing press conferences at the Open as one of the favourites and coming to Turkey as the leader of the Race to Dubai, then I would have said, ‘yeah, that’s alright’.
“It’s pressure but a different kind of pressure and one I enjoy. The Race to Dubai is massive. It’s one of the biggest things you can achieve in your career.”
Fleetwood can inch himself closer to that goal in this week’s Turkey shoot.
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