Will Lee Westwood or Martin Kaymer be smiling after this week’s European Tour event in Spain?
When the Andalucia Valderrama Masters finishes on Sunday evening either Westwood or Kaymer will be crowned the new world number one.
Westwood isn’t playing in Spain as he remains sidelined by the calf problem that flared up again during the Ryder Cup and forced him back onto the treatment table.
The Englishman had looked set to replace Tiger Woods at the top of the world rankings, but Kaymer’s stellar form in recent weeks has seen the German emerge as a genuine rival.
The 25-year-old has followed up his maiden Major victory at August’s US PGA Championship with back-to-back successes at the KLM Open and Dunhill Links Championship.
Sportsbook favourite Kaymer has to win, finish second on his own, or finish second with one other player this week to pip the inactive Westwood to the number one slot so the Andalucia Valderrama Masters has added importance.
Whichever way the honour falls it will still be a day of celebration for the European Tour as no continental player since Nick Faldo back in 1994 has been the world number one.
Will Martin Kaymer win this week’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters? – Latest Golf Betting
However, winning at Valderrama will be no mean feat for Kaymer as the reduced field event includes some of the highest ranked players in the Race to Dubai.
As the final event before the season-ending shoot-out in the Middle East, the stars are out in force and all looking to pick up the 500,000 Euro first prize.
US Open champion and Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell, fellow European team members Ross Fisher, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Francesco and Edoardo Molinari are all in the field.
Home favourite Sergio Garcia will tee it up as he continues his tentative return to action at a venue regarded as one of Europe’s finest courses.
Previously known as the Volvo Masters and home to the lucrative end-of-season tournament, Valderrama was a fitting venue for the European number one to be crowned.
The spectacular Robert Trent Jones Snr layout was host to the 1997 Ryder Cup which Europe, under the captaincy of the charismatic Seve Ballesteros, won 14.5-13.5 against the United States.
The race to become the new world number one could be similarly tight so all eyes will be on events in southern Spain as they play out over the next few days.
