Louis Oosthuizen has reclaimed the top spot in the South African rankings from Charl Schwartzel, after finishing inside the top 20 at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Oosthuizen secured a top-20 spot after weekend rounds of 66 and 70 at the TPC Four Seasons resort near Dallas, Texas. While it was good news for the 2010 Open Championship winner, there was cause for concern on the part of the man he replaced as the number one South African on the major tours.
Schwartzel was forced to withdraw from this week’s event during Saturday’s third round, due to a wrist injury.
‘Couldn’t hold the club today @attbyronnelson @PGATOUR, because of my wrist had to withdraw. Getting it scanned Monday. Hopefully not serious,’ tweeted the 2011 Masters winner.
Oosthuizen and Matt Kuchar each moved up one spot, with Schwartzel dropping two places to 19th. Veteran Ernie Els finished in a share of 35th place in Texas and is now ranked 404th in the world.
There wasn’t much joy for South Africans, with only Oosthuizen showing a green arrow in the top 13. Richard Sterne’s decline continues as he drops outside of the top 100 to sit in 101st place. The next player on the verge of dropping outside the top 100 is Dylan Frittelli, who did not tee it up this week.
The next green arrow on the rankings page comes next to the name of Oliver Bekker, who won the first of three playoffs in golf on Sunday. Bekker saw off Justin Harding to win the Lombard Insurance Classic in Swaziland and jumped 28 places to 247 in the world as a result.
Zander Lombard, who was beaten in Sicily by Alvaro Quiros, moved up from 431 to 269 after his week’s effort at the Verdura Resort and will be hoping to take full advantage of his entry into the PGA BMW Championship at Wentworth as he looks to secure a tour card for next season.
At the top of the rankings, Jason Day moves back to third after his playoff loss to Billy Horschel on Sunday, while Sweden’s Henrik Stenson moved past Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth to sit in fifth place. Spieth is now ranked seventh in the world, with Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler rounding out the top 10.
Top 10 South African rankings:
Louis Oosthuizen – 17
Charl Schwartzel – 19
Branden Grace – 26
Brandon Stone –83
Dylan Frittelli – 99
Richard Sterne – 101
Dean Burmester – 112
Jaco Van Zyl – 124
George Coetzee – 139
Thomas Aiken – 176
Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
