Golf World Rankings: Robert Karlsson has broken into the world's top 10 for the first time after his play-off win at the Dunhill Links Championship in St Andrews yesterday.
The 39-year-old Swede won at the first sudden-death hole after he and Germany's Martin Kaymer plus England's Ross Fisher tied on 10-under. Karlsson birdied the first hole and the win took him from 18th to eighth in the new rankings.
Yesterday's win also puts him in pole position for the European Tour Order of Merit as he overtook this season's two-time major winner Pádraig Harrington at the top of the standings. The €545,811 first prize moved him €142,425 ahead of the Dubliner with just four events remaining.
Karlsson, who won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Germany the week before the Ryder Cup, plans to play one more event before the season-ending Volvo Masters while Harrington is only scheduled to compete at Valderrama.
Harrington is still the leading Irishman at fourth in the world rankings. Graeme McDowell is next of the Irish in 33rd, Darren Clarke is 62nd, Paul McGinley 92nd while Rory McIlroy is on the verge of breaking into the top 100. The Holywood teenager is 102nd after finishing tied sixth - the leading Irishman - at St Andrews.
Colin Montgomerie's was moving in the other direction and his failure to survive the cut at the Home of Golf he drops out of the top 100 again.
Latest leading positions in the world rankings:
1 Tiger Woods 15.69pts
2 Phil Mickelson 8.91
3 Vijay Singh 7.63
4 Pádraig Harrington 7.46
5 Sergio Garcia 7.14
6 Anthony Kim 5.29
7 Camilo Villegas 5.27
8 Robert Karlsson 5.22
9 Ernie Els 5.19
10 Henrik Stenson 5.16
11 Jim Furyk 5.03
12 Lee Westwood 5.02
13 Steve Stricker 4.99
14 Stewart Cink 4.69
15 Justin Rose 4.55
16 KJ Choi 4.51
17 Adam Scott 4.50
18 Geoff Ogilvy 4.41
19 Kenny Perry 4.16
20 Miguel Angel Jimenez 4.12
Selected others:
33 Graeme McDowell
62 Darren Clarke
92 Paul McGinley
102 Rory McIlroy
