Charl Schwartzel’s rankings decline continued on Monday as the South African dropped four places to 44th in the world, just five ahead of Dylan Frittelli.
Although his spot in The Masters is secure – he won there in 2011 – his world ranking continues to trend negatively and could yet impact his participation in future WGC events.
He has made the cut in all 13 appearances since his last weekend off at the US Open but in that time, Schwartzel has failed to secure a top 10 and also missed the season-ending Tour Championship on the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old started off brightly at the SA Open at Glendower last month but failed to produce the one low round that would’ve vaulted him into contention before he settled for a share of 15th place.
Schwartzel’s current ranking of 44th is his worst in two years. The South African’s drop this week comes on the back of Kiradech Aphibarnrat’s win in Perth, now 37th, and a second strong week in a row from Chez Reavie; he climbed the leaderboard all week to finish T2 at Pebble Beach and sits 43rd in the rankings.
Branden Grace remains South Africa’s best in 28th place after a steady week at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he finished T20. Grace moved ahead of Louis Oosthuizen, now 29th, after winning the Nedbank Challenge and then finishing second at Glendower. Both Grace and Oosthuizen were unchanged this week.
Frittelli is currently on a two-week break and dropped two places to 49th due to his inactivity.
At the top of the standings, there was no change in the top seven where Dustin Johnson continues to hold his advantage over Jon Rahm with Jason Day swapping eighth place with Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut and now sits in 10th.
Top 10 South African rankings:
28. Branden Grace
29. Louis Oosthuizen
44. Charl Schwartzel
49. Dylan Frittelli
102. Shaun Norris
141. Richard Sterne
143. Dean Burmester
145. Erik Van Rooyen
150. George Coetzee
175. Haydn Porteous
Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
