The final drama at Valderama

TWENTY-FOUR of this season’s winners are included in the 66-strong field for this week’s Volvo Masters at Valderrama. But most eyes are on only two of them.

With Ernie Els not playing, South African Retief Goosen and Ireland's Pádraig Harrington are left to fight it out for the Order of Merit crown.

Just £14,538 separates them and it could come down to a difference of one shot on Sunday like it did when Colin Montgomerie pipped Sam Torrance on the same course in 1995.

Goosen and Harrington finished first and second last year, but Goosen had tied the money list title up two weeks earlier then and was on a lap of honour. Harrington's victory in Jerez merely served to close the gap.

The pair have won nearly £3million between them on the circuit this season, but perhaps surprisingly with that in mind they have won only once each Goosen at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia back in January and Harrington at the Dunhill links championship at St Andrews last month.

The tale of the tape for the two shows it to have been a fairly evenly-matched contest in many way.

They have both played 21 events, have both had 38 sub-70 rounds and in terms of strokes taken they are the only two players on the European tour to average under 70 each time they tee off.

Harrington actually leads that with 69.48 to Goosen's 69.95 and also has more top 10 finishes 10 to nine and is 158 under par to Goosen's 124.

But the Johannesburg golfer's second places at the Masters in April and the American Express world championship in September, behind Tiger Woods both times, have helped him in the category which matters most money.

Harrington missed a golden opportunity to take over in the lead two weeks ago. He led the Madrid Open with a round to go, but finished joint seventh with Goosen.

Then last week, with Goosen in America at their Tour Championship, he needed a top-four placing to go to number one, but needed a closing 63 his lowest round of the season - just for a share of sixth spot.

It keeps the issue going to the wire, though.

If Harrington finishes in the top five this weekend and is ahead of Goosen he is guaranteed top spot.