Race to Dubai standingsR McIlroy (NI) £2.8mP Hanson (Swe) £2.11mJ Rose (Eng) £2.05mL Oosthuizen (SA) £2.03mI Poulter (Eng) £1.82mSINGAPORE – World number one Rory McIlroy secured the European Tour money list after finishing third at the Singapore Open.The 23-year-old USPGA champion emulated Luke Donald’s achievement last year of finishing top of the list in Europe and the United States in the same season.He closed with a 30-foot eagle putt for a 65 to edge one shot ahead of Thomas Bjorn at 10 under at the Sentosa Club.Louis Oosthuizen and Matteo Manassero were both 13 under, Manassero winning the event at the third play-off hole.McIlroy has now won in excess of £2.8m in the Race to Dubai, which replaced the European Tour’s Order of Merit in 2009, and cannot be overhauled, despite two tournaments still remaining in this year’s calendar.The Northern Irishman, who began his European Tour campaign with two top-five finishes in the Middle East and finished in the top three in his final two events, played down his feat and insisted: “The money list has been cheapened a little bit by not having the leading players at events towards the end of the year. “It’s still an award for consistency and you need to play well throughout the year in all the tournaments you attend.“I am going to end up playing 13 or 14 events on the European Tour this year. That’s obviously a lot less than a lot of other people but I have played in the bigger tournaments with the higher prize funds, which has allowed me to get to the top.”A large percentage of the third round had to be finished at first light on Sunday and Manassero, who had 15 holes to complete, was in a group of seven players at five under, four shots behind Bjorn.
