Final Series Golf 2013: Projected Rankings Following Turkish Airlines Open

The 2013 Race to Dubai is heating up, as the Turkish Airlines Open produced an entertaining final round of play at the Montgomerie Maxx course in Royal Antalya, Turkey.

Despite valiant efforts from some of the world's best, including Justin Rose, Tiger Woods and current Race leader Henrik Stenson, Victor Dubuisson emerged victorious on Sunday, finishing two shots ahead of second-place finisher Jamie Donaldson.

However, Stenson remains very much the man to beat after the Swedish star's 18-under performance at the final tournament prior to the DP World Tour Championship later this week.

Here's a look at the latest projected rankings after the third event in this season's Race to Dubai.

Ranking	Golfer	Nationality	Projected Points
1	Henrik Stenson	SWE	2,379,194
2	Justin Rose	ENG	2,165,727
3	Graeme McDowell	NIR	2,057,395
4	Ian Poulter	ENG	2,035,288
5	Jamie Donaldson	WAL	1,787,159
6	Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano	ESP	1,559,462
7	Thongchai Jaidee	THA	1,464,747
8	Richard Sterne	RSA	1,457,145
9	Victor Dubuisson	FRA	1,444,069
10	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	1,407,779

For a complete look at the predicted standings after the Turkish Airlines Open, head to EuropeanTour.com. 

Obviously, Stenson's lead is reasonably comfortable, as he's up by more than 200,000 points on Rose and the rest of the field heading into the European Tour finale in Dubai. 

That being said, Rose, last year's runner-up to Rory McIlroy, has to be pleased with what was another strong performance. 

After having tied with Woods for third, Rose is one of the few with a realistic chance of catching Stenson. Given how consistent the 2013 U.S. Open champion has been this year, one can't count him out yet. 

Beyond him is Graeme McDowell, who will drop from second to third in the rankings, but that's largely because he opted not to play in Turkey. 

Outside of McDowell and Rose, Ian Poulter's play has been encouraging as well. His fifth-place result here will keep him at least in contention if he has a strong showing in Dubai. 

And, one can't discount the chances of Dubuisson and runner-up Donaldson, both of whom will look to carry the momentum gained at the Montgomerie Maxx course into next weekend. 

Dubuisson is playing the best golf of his career, and if he plays the way he did, particularly during the third round, he'll be in for a big pay day in a week's time. 

Though he narrowly missed out on the title, Donaldson's Round 4 outing opened some eyes as well, as his 63 was the day's best. 

Now, heading into the climax of the 2013 European Tour season, it'll take an equally impressive showing from either of them if they hope to catch Stenson, Rose and McDowell.