Eugenio Chacarra is aiming to bring his finest golf to hold off Rory McIlroy and claim the Race to Dubai crown at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The Spaniard holds a 533.93-point advantage over Masters champion McIlroy entering the final event at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where 2,000 points are up for grabs for the winner.
On the back of a third-place finish at last week’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, McIlroy is targeting a fifth consecutive Race to Dubai title, a triumph that would match Colin Montgomerie’s record tally of eight overall.
Meanwhile, the likes of Patrick Reed, USPGA champion Aaron Rai, Jon Rahm and Open winner Ryan Fox retain a mathematical possibility of making a late charge for top spot should the frontrunners falter.
Chacarra recognises there is minimal margin for error as he prepares to head out on Thursday in the marquee final pairing alongside McIlroy.
"Obviously we know how good Rory McIlroy is and he is one of my idols. It is going to be a tough test and that is what I dreamed of since I was little," Chacarra said at a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.
"But I already beat him in India (at the DP World India Championship in October), so I need to remind myself that I can compete with him and I can beat him like I did already a couple weeks ago.
"This is a course that he has had a lot of success (on) and I only played once and didn’t do very good, but they are just numbers. This is golf and crazy things happen.
"I am just going to enjoy myself, and if I bring my A-game, I am going to be able to compete with him on Sunday."
