Tiger Woods continued his rise up the world rankings after finishing inside the top five at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.
Ranked No 1,199 at the end of November 2017, Woods sits at 105th after another solid week mixing it with the world’s best. The 14-time Major champion got himself into the frame late on Sunday with birdies at the 10th, 12th and 13th moving him within one of the lead.
A wild drive on the 16th which saw him bogey the must-birdie par five, coupled with some fireworks further back in the field from Rory McIlroy, ended Woods’ pursuit of a return to the winner’s circle.
While he did not win at Bay Hill, it was another step in the right direction after finishing 12th at the Honda Classic and T2 at the Valspar Championship.
“The fans gave me all the adrenaline in the world,” Woods said on Sunday, “and to be in contention… if I can play with no pain and I can feel like I can make golf swings… each tournament has gotten a little crisper.”
For McIlroy, the win ended 539 days since he last lifted a trophy and reversed his rankings decline as he moved up six places to seventh.
It was a week to forget for Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel after they both missed the cut. Oosthuizen remains SA’s second-ranked player unmoved in 29th place, two behind Branden Grace, who didn’t tee it up at Bay Hill. Schwartzel dropped one place to 53rd, eight behind Dylan Frittelli.
All four are expected to feature in this week’s Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas.
On the Sunshine Tour, Darren Fichardt closed the season with a win at the Tour Championship which resulted in a jump of 50 places. As a result, Haydn Porteous drops out of the top 10 South Africas.
Top 10 South African rankings:
Branden Grace – 27
Louis Oosthuizen – 29
Dylan Fritelli – 45
Charl Schwartzel – 53
George Coetzee – 100
Shaun Norris – 111
Dean Burmester – 126
Darren Fichardt – 137
Richard Sterne – 152
Erik van Rooyen – 157
