Europe once again occupies the top four places in the Official World Golf Ranking with Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy both moving up two places to make it an all European affair at the pinnacle of world golf.
Second and joint third place finishes for Kaymer and McIlroy respectively in last week’s Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, lifted the two European Tour Members ahead of Steve Stricker and Dustin Johnson after the Americans finished well down the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship in the second of the FedEx Cup playoff series.
And with Lee Westwood finishing tied for sixth place at the Omega European Masters and Luke Donald narrowly missing out in Boston, they both retained their positions of World Number Two and One respectively, meaning Europeans are back in the four of the top places in the World Ranking for the first time since July 24th 2011.
At that point, the top was identical to how it now sits, with Donald One, Westwood Two, Kaymer Three, and McIlroy Four.
Kaymer was lying fifth in the world at the end of last week, but after forcing himself into contention in Switzerland – eventually finishing four shots behind an inspired Thomas Björn – the German has regained World Number Three status.
The former US PGA Champion, of course, spent eight weeks at the peak of the World Ranking in February 2011, becoming the World Number One for the first time after reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play.
Rory McIlroy finished tied for third in Crans Montana and the result was enough to force the Northern Irishman back into the top five of the World Rankings, moving up two places from sixth to become the new World Number Four.
McIlroy’s highest ranking to date came after his stunning US Open victory in June, a performance that propelled him to World Number Three and underlined his status as one of golf’s brightest stars.
The biggest move of the week came from Thomas Björn. After back-to-back wins at the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles and last week’s at the Omega European Masters, the Dane moved up 31 places in the World Ranking from 59th to 28th.
The rise heralds a remarkable turnaround for Björn who started the year at 124th in the world and admitted to evaluating his career before a stunning season which has seen the Dane earn more money than in the previous three years combined.
Second and joint third place finishes for Kaymer and McIlroy respectively in last week’s Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, lifted the two European Tour Members ahead of Steve Stricker and Dustin Johnson after the Americans finished well down the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship in the second of the FedEx Cup playoff series.
And with Lee Westwood finishing tied for sixth place at the Omega European Masters and Luke Donald narrowly missing out in Boston, they both retained their positions of World Number Two and One respectively, meaning Europeans are back in the four of the top places in the World Ranking for the first time since July 24th 2011.
At that point, the top was identical to how it now sits, with Donald One, Westwood Two, Kaymer Three, and McIlroy Four.
Kaymer was lying fifth in the world at the end of last week, but after forcing himself into contention in Switzerland – eventually finishing four shots behind an inspired Thomas Björn – the German has regained World Number Three status.
The former US PGA Champion, of course, spent eight weeks at the peak of the World Ranking in February 2011, becoming the World Number One for the first time after reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play.
Rory McIlroy finished tied for third in Crans Montana and the result was enough to force the Northern Irishman back into the top five of the World Rankings, moving up two places from sixth to become the new World Number Four.
McIlroy’s highest ranking to date came after his stunning US Open victory in June, a performance that propelled him to World Number Three and underlined his status as one of golf’s brightest stars.
The biggest move of the week came from Thomas Björn. After back-to-back wins at the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles and last week’s at the Omega European Masters, the Dane moved up 31 places in the World Ranking from 59th to 28th.
The rise heralds a remarkable turnaround for Björn who started the year at 124th in the world and admitted to evaluating his career before a stunning season which has seen the Dane earn more money than in the previous three years combined.
