South African trio George Coetzee, Oliver Bekker and Shaun Norris all enjoyed a rankings boost after a good weekend’s work, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Coetzee fired himself into contention this week in Sweden with a Sunday 66, but had to settle for a share of fourth, with Italian Renato Paratore claiming the win from England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood.
The top five finish helped Coetzee move up 14 places in the latest rankings to 129 in the world, and is also the only South African in the top 10 to show a positive move this week.
Charl Schwartzel finished in a share of 35th place at the Memorial after a closing round of 76 and dropped one place to 21st – one behind SA’s top-ranked Louis Oosthuizen. Branden Grace did not peg it up last week, but remains in 25th place.
Oliver Bekker continued his fine run with a tied third-place finish at the Mopani Redpath Open, a result which saw him jump 23 places to 227 in the world. Next best from a South African perspective is Shaun Norris, who earned R3.4-million for his win in Japan, and jumped 170 places to 251 in the world.
At the top of the rankings the top four remain unchanged, with Spain’s Sergio Garcia moving up from 7th to 5th as Henrik Stenson moves down to 7th, with Jordan Spieth sandwiched in between. Alex Noren remains in 8th, with Rickie Fowler climbing back inside the top 10 after running Jason Dufner close on the PGA TOUR.
Top 10 South African rankings:
Louis Oosthuizen – 20
Charl Schwartzel – 21
Branden Grace – 25
Brandon Stone –89
Dean Burmester – 100
Dylan Frittelli – 104
Richard Sterne – 109
Jaco Van Zyl – 118
George Coetzee – 129
Thomas Aiken – 179
Photo: Backpagepix
