Rory McIlroy sits back to see if the field can catch him

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.

McIlroy holds a commanding lead of more than three million points over Sergio Garcia as he looks to win the Race to Dubai and PGA Tour money list titles for the second time in three years.

However, the world number one is missing both the BMW Masters and WGC-HSBC Champions events in Shanghai in order to prepare for his court case with his former management company, increasing the admittedly slim possibility of being overhauled by the likes of Garcia and current European number one Henrik Stenson.

Garcia and Stenson will not be at Lake Malaren either this week, with the Spaniard opting to compete in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia on the PGA Tour instead, while Stenson withdrew following the birth of his third child on Sunday.

Each event in the Final Series has a prize pool of 10 million points (one euro equals one point) with 1,666,600 going to the winner, while McIlroy is guaranteed to earn at least the 27,170 points on offer for last place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

That will take the 25-year-old’s total to just over 5.4 million, meaning his rivals will need to have reached at least 3.8 million before Dubai to have a chance of overhauling the four-time major winner.

For Garcia, who has committed to play in the HSBC Champions and the Turkish Airlines Open, that equates to a runner-up and top-five finish, while Stenson will need even better results to keep his hopes alive.

With so many points on offer, all of the top 20 players have a chance of being within striking distance of McIlroy with a first and second place finish over the next three weeks, but eighth-placed Justin Rose has other goals in mind.

The top 15 players after Dubai will share a bonus pool of $5 million (€3.9 million) and Rose is also looking to move up from his current position of sixth in the world rankings.

“I’m not sure I can catch Rory but the bonus pool runs deep down to 15th and I want to strengthen my world ranking as much as possible,” the 2013 US Open champion told a pre-tournament press conference.

“If I can play well and maybe win a couple of tournaments between now and the end of the season, I could probably get up to second in the world, which would be a personal best. So there’s always something to play for.”

Rose warmed up for the BMW Masters by beating Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter in a match to mark the opening of a course they designed in Hainan, continuing his excellent match play form after being Europe's top points scorer at Gleneagles last month.

Poulter is a lowly 64th on the money list after just one top-five finish on the European Tour this season, but is looking to continue his impressive record in the Far East.

The 38-year-old was 15th at Lake Malaren last year and fourth in 2012, as well as having won in Shenzhen, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“I’ve got a decent record here in Asia,” Poulter said. “I played very strong the back end of last year. I’ve played well on this golf course in the past, so I’m looking forward to getting going.

“I’ve been close here. I like the layout, I like the way it looks, and if the weather holds off for us and is kind then it’s going to be a great week.

“The success over here obviously means that I’ve got a good following, and hopefully that may long continue.”

Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell sit in 13th and 14th position in The Race to Dubai standings and both are in action in China this week.

Presently 54th in the world rankings, Lowry will be looking to climb into the top 50 before the end of the year and earn a first invite to the Masters at Augusta.

Michael Hoey, at 47th in the Road to the Dubai rankings, also tees it up, while Europe Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has received a sponsor's invite.