Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia and Marcel Siem will have to achieve something only Rory McIlroy himself has done this season to deny the world number one a second Race to Dubai title in three years.

Shane Lowry needs only to finish top 20 in this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event to find himself among the chosen 50 in world golf.

It was not surprising victorious Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley should walk off the final green in his final tournament of 2014 confessing he had never played a proper golf season.

Germany’s Marcel Siem claimed his fourth European Tour title in dramatic fashion after a three-man play-off for the BMW Masters in Shanghai on Sunday.

Graeme McDowell has become the latest player to call for Darren Clarke to be handed the 2016 European Ryder Cup captaincy.

As Graeme McDowell stressed the importance and focus of a new family life he insists his playing schedule will not alter heading into the New Year.

France's Alexander Levy made the ideal start to his bid for a third victory of the season - and second in China - in the BMW Masters today.

Rory McIlroy will be an interested spectator as the first event of the European Tour’s Final Series gets under way in China today.

Rory McIlroy will be an interested spectator as the first event of the European Tour's Final Series gets under way in China on Thursday.

World number one Rory McIlroy faces a break from the sport as a Dublin courtroom is poised to take centre stage rather than a golf course early next year.

After Paul McGinley’s near two-year commitment to Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup campaign he finds the expanding business side of Paul McGinley the golfer will see him contest just 15 events in 2015.

Sergio Garcia labelled the rough as “dangerous” after struggling to a four-over-par 76 in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

England’s Simon Dyson wants to put the worst moment of his career behind him as he returns to action for the first time since being handed a suspended two-month ban from the European Tour.

Former world number one Ernie Els has described as “farcical” the European Tour’s increased playing demands and will register his disapproval by skipping next week’s flagship season-ending event in Dubai.

A last-hole gamble backfired on Rory McIlroy as Dustin Johnson stormed into a commanding lead in the second round of the WGC-HSBC Champions on Friday.

The Golf Channel analyst who compared a rules violation by Tiger Woods to his own episode of cheating on a fourth-grade math test has admitted the comment was a mistake.

Graeme McDowell is intent on finishing this season as Europe’s number one golfer.

Rory McIlroy backed up his pre-tournament prediction in brilliant fashion with a flawless 65 as Open champion Phil Mickelson suffered an astonishing collapse in the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Rory McIlroy has not won all season, has gone from world number one to sixth in the rankings and is 62nd on a European Tour money list which he won last year to go with the US equivalent and five victories, including a second major title.

Yes, yes, I know it’s nearly November and the leading golfers in the world are out east chasing dollars, dirhams and yuan — there’s gold in them thar (Mission) Hills, eh, Rory! — but it has actually been quite a good week for the Irish Open.

Rory McIlroy has ruled out any off-course socialising with Tiger Woods after his disappointing showing in the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

England’s Simon Dyson had “no recollection” of breaking the rule which led to his disqualification from the BMW Masters in Shanghai, according to tournament officials.

Rory McIlroy will compete at next year’s rescheduled Irish Open at Carton House.

Any suggestion of a rift between Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell was clearly dispelled on the opening day of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

Graeme McDowell hopes to extend his marriage celebrations by capturing the European number one crown.

Rory McIlroy joined the Swedish pair of Henrik Stenson, Peter Hanson and China’s Ashun Wu at the famed Bund in Shanghai for the launch of this week’s BMW Masters.

Defending champion Shane Lowry missed the cut, Paul McGinley will play over the weekend for the fifth tournament running, while struggling Peter Lawrie is staring at a 25,000km round trip to Australia in the hope of saving his Tour card.

Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano has received a late call-up to Continental Europe's team for this week's Seve Trophy after Peter Hanson pulled out with a back injury.

Carton House’s Shane Lowry warmed-up for this week’s Irish Open with a blistering final round 65 in the BMW International Open in Munich.

Darren Clarke ended his season on a high with his best-placed finish in nearly 18 months after climaxing the Australian PGA Championship in a nine-way share of eighth place.

Ryder Cup Swede Peter Hanson continued his brilliant form in China today – and that was bad news for the absent Rory McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy may be on a week off, but he remains in the news and at the centre of debate – both for the clubs he plays with and for his choice of tournaments.

Life gets better and better for Shane Lowry.

Rory McIlroy outscored Tiger Woods for only the third time in 11 head-to-head clashes in China today, winning their 'Duel at Jinsha Lake' with a five-under-par 67 to the American's 68.

Despite a glowing result for Irish golf, with four men inside the top 11, there was no hiding Rory McIlroy’s disappointment at finishing runner-up at the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

Peter Hanson suspects that nothing less than his top form will do if he is to stop Rory McIlroy winning for a fifth time this year in Shanghai tomorrow.

Rory McIlroy is targeting a fifth Tour victory this season after moving into second spot at the BMW Masters in Shanghai yesterday.

Despite suffering from the effects of pollution, Rory McIlroy managed to keep in sight of Irish Open winner Jamie Donaldson on the opening day of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

The best season of Jamie Donaldson’s career could be about to get even better.

Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald have backed Paul McGinley to captain Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy returns to competition as the star of this week’s BMW Masters at the Lake Malaren Club in suburban Shanghai alongside 10 of his victorious European Ryder Cup colleagues.

There was a time when professional golf went into hibernation for a good six months with the arrival of October.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington has suddenly found himself called into the four-man PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal in Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Algarve has hosted many a rousing Irish party over the years but little could match the celebrations in Vilamoura on Sunday night to mark Shane Lowry’s victory in the Portugal Masters.