Westwood aims to take over top spot on Europe's all-time money list

Lee Westwood has the chance to achieve another milestone in his career this weekend – becoming the biggest earner in European Tour history.

In a clear sign of the times the opportunity comes not in Europe, but in China at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament where Westwood finished runner-up last year, one shot behind Francesco Molinari and nine clear of the rest.

For years, the top of the career money list was fought out between Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els.

Montgomerie, though, has not had a victory for well over four years and Els has not had even a top-10 finish on the European circuit since he won the South African Open last December. Els, 42, still heads the table with $35,843,000, but Westwood, 38, is now up to $35,523,000 and first prize in Shanghai is more than $1.15 million.

That figure is still dwarfed, of course, by the $2 million that Rory McIlroy won in the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, but this event carries world ranking points and counts toward this season's European money list race.

Luke Donald, already with the PGA Tour money title in his pocket, leads by over $1.75 million, but withdrew to stay with his wife Diane. She is expecting their second child at any time.

It was this time last year that Westwood went to world No. 1 for the first time, even though he finished second to Molinari.

"I played like world No. 1 in the tournament," he said. "Unfortunately, Francesco played a little bit better."

Westwood cannot catch Donald in the world rankings this week, but having the 22-year-old McIlroy snapping at his heels ought to act as added incentive.

"I think that it's a game where I guess age is not such a big issue. You can obviously play well into your 40s," he said. "The young lads that come out now in their early 20s obviously have a hunger for it and they seem they are almost professional before they come out.

"You have the likes of Tom Lewis, who won his third event on Tour in Portugal a few weeks back and Matteo [Manassero] who's won a couple of times already and he's only 18."

Lewis, 20, makes his World Golf Championships debut alongside last year's U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. The Ulsterman appeared in crisis with his game at the weekend, though, as he failed to break 80 in the last two rounds of the Andalucia Masters.

"Hit every tree at Valderrama," he said on his Twitter site. "Good swings are great but bad ones are out of control."

Westwood plays with PGA Champion Keegan Bradley -- one of only a few American stars in a field including just four of the world's top 10 -- and Australian Adam Scott. McIlroy's partners are Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and American Nick Watney, who like Scott already has one world championship victory this season.