English golfing stars Charley Hull and Tommy Fleetwood were both pipped to victory by the narrowest of margins in their respective recent tournaments.
Hull shot an impressive final round of 66, dramatically closing the gap with the leader Kim Sei-young.
The 23-year-old Englishwoman, who entered the tournament ranked at 51 out of the 60 competitors, managed to birdie her final three holes, seemingly forcing a play-off with the South Korean pacesetter.
However, an exquisite 25-foot putt on the crucial 18th green gave Kim the birdie she needed to take home the final Tour Championship of the season, and the £1.17m in prize money.
The vast prize pot was the biggest in the history of women’s golf, and not the only sign that the game is becoming increasingly richer.
The Ladies Tour Order of Merit is receiving an injection of cash as it will be revamped as the Race to Costa del Sol from 2020 onwards, mirroring the men’s European Tour Race to Dubai.
The new format will land the top player an added £107,000, with second and third also receiving bonus funds of £64,000 and £43,000, respectively.
As for the men’s already existing Race to Dubai, Jon Rahm sunk a three-foot putt on the final green of the final day to edge victory over Fleetwood.
The victory meant that Rahm also beat his English opponent in the season-long standings, landing the Spaniard with both the £2.34m prize for winning the tournament in Dubai and the £1.56m for ending on top in the final Race to Dubai table.
The defeat for Fleetwood would have been agonising, but his consistency in the European Tour is commendable. 2019’s second-place finish means that the 28-year-old has come in the top three for each of the past three years, proving him to be one of the best and set to stay near the top.
It seems that English golf, and golf in general, have many more exciting times on the horizon.
