Race to Dubai is a race to the finish

The Race to Dubai has truly become a compelling race to the finish. With World No. 2 Rory McIlroy stumbling on Saturday with a 72 in the DP World Tour Championship, the Ulsterman now faces a final-day showdown for both the tournament and season points title with Eugenio Chacarra. 

McIlroy, who is going for a record-tying eighth DPWT season title and a fourth Tour Championship victory, is projected to need at least a solo fourth-place result while finishing ahead of Chacarra, with whom he's tied after the 26-year-old Spaniard shot 68. The latter went into the week at No. 1 in the standings and led McIlroy by nearly 534 points, and there is around a 700-point difference between first, second and third place in the finale. 

The increments get smaller after that. McIlroy went into the third round tied for the lead with LIV Golf alum Tyrrell Hatton, but he fell into a four-way tie for second by suffering four bogeys to go with an eagle and three birdies at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. Hatton shot 68 and is the solo leader at nine under, one shot ahead of Victor Perez (67), three in front of Mikal Lindberg (69), and four up on McIlroy, Chacarra, Adam Scott (67) and Francesco Laporta (68).

After a Saturday fade, Rory McIlroy faces big fight in bid for record-tying Race title

McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra will square off in a Sunday showdown to determine the DP World Tour's season-long points race

By Tod Leonard

What You Need to Know

Tod Leonard

Morgan Pressel is out as Golf Channel’s lead analyst for its LPGA coverage. The news was first reported by Golfweek, which said the 38-year-old’s contract has not been renewed by Golf Channel’s owner, Versant. Replaced in the booth this week at The Annika by Paige Mackenzie, Pressel won’t be a part of the early week coverage of next week’s season-finale CME Group Tour Championship. But, as noted by Golfweek, she could appear on the broadcast on Sunday or in the future for NBC, which has separate contracts with talent. Pressel declined comment when reached by Golfweek.

A two-time LPGA winner and champion of major winner at the Kraft Nabisco Championship when she was only 18, Pressel became an analyst and on-course reporter in 2021, rising to the lead commentator’s chair when Judy Rankin retired in 2022. Away from broadcasting, Pressel has twice served as a U.S. Solheim Cup assistant captain to Stacy Lewis and figures to one day take the helm. She was in that position this year for the U.S. Junior Solheim Cup in the Netherlands.

Tod Leonard

Oddly, Bryson DeChambeau’s California hometown of Clovis, 10 miles east of Fresno, doesn’t have a golf course. It will have one and a much larger population if the two-time U.S. Open champion and his development partners have their way on what DeChambeau has called a “mega” project. DeChambeau has announced that he and real estate developer Cook Land Company have plans to build an 18-hole championship course, The Orchard Golf Club, which would be the golfer’s first design, and a residential community on the land they’ve acquired at historic McFarlane Ranch. DeChambeau noted in his statement on Friday that plans for the development have been discussed since 2022 and that the project still needs approval from the City of Clovis and Fresno County. He estimated that the process could take about 18 months. “The development regulations in California are complex but the City of Clovis and Fresno County has been and will continue to work hand in hand to bring this important project to the region,” he said.

Coleman Bentley

The dust has finally settled on the 2026 Internet Invitational. On Friday afternoon, 24 hours after the finale went live, Barstool Sports head honcho Dave Portnoy took to X to make a big announcement:

Salim “The Dream” Sirur will not be part of the field in 2027. “Salim’s a nice kid, and I hope he gets the help he needs,” said Portnoy with an uncharacteristic glimmer of empathy, “but my god he f—ing ruined it [the final match]. … It’s selfish to every mother—er there to do what he did. He will NOT be back next year. If he is, I’m OUT.” 

Yes, you read that right. Portnoy, who made it clear this year that he does not have veto power over the final invitees, will walk away from Internet Invitational (Barstool Sports? Planet Earth?) if Salim doesn’t serve at least a one-year suspension after getting blackout drunk and tanking the $4 million final.

According to Portnoy, not everyone in the Internet Invitational group chat, featuring members of the Barstool and Bob Does Sports brass, agree. Some believe Salim should return immediately for a villain and/or redemption arc. Portnoy, meanwhile, would prefer a “three-to-five-year suspension,” but seems willing to settle for a one-year ban, at least for the time being.

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