Golf:Pádraig Harrington moved up one place to fifth in the latest world rankings despite not competing at the weekend, while Graeme McDowell has dropped further outside the world's top 50.
McDowell teamed up with Rory McIlroy to represent Ireland at the World Cup in China, and although the pair led for most of the week, they had to settle for joint second behind Italy, who won for the first time.
McDowell dropped four places to 55th in the latest standings which leaves him in a precarious spot because the 30-year-old needed to be inside the top 50 at year’s end to secure an invite to the Masters in April, the first major of the season.
The Portrush pro is due to tee it up in the Shark Shootout next week but is not scheduled to play in any more tournaments with world ranking points before Abu Dhabi next January. It means he will need a fast start to the year in his bid to return to the top-50.
McIlroy’s position was unchanged as the 20-year-old holds onto 10th spot.
After McDowell, Darren Clarke is the next Irishman in 108th with Gareth Maybin 127th, Shane Lowry 134th and Peter Lawrie 158th. Beyond that Paul McGinley finds himself way down in 211th while Michael Hoey is 244th.
Latest World Rankings
1 Tiger Woods 15.70pts
2 Phil Mickelson 8.82
3 Steve Stricker 7.11
4 Lee Westwood 6.74
5 Pádraig Harrington 5.73
6 Paul Casey 5.73
7 Henrik Stenson 5.49
8 Sergio Garcia 5.09
9 Kenny Perry 5.08
10 Rory McIlroy 5.07
11 Jim Furyk 5.00
12 Martin Kaymer 4.81
13 Geoff Ogilvy 4.79
14 Ian Poulter 4.78
15 Stewart Cink 4.45
16 Sean O'Hair 4.40
17 Ernie Els 4.30
18 Retief Goosen 4.06
19 Lucas Glover 4.04
20 Ross Fisher 3.97
Selected others:
55 Graeme McDowell
108 Darren Clarke
127 Gareth Maybin
134 Shane Lowry
158 Peter Lawrie
211 Paul McGinley
244 Michael Hoey
