After rallying to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in a playoff, Russell Knox is back inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in nearly a year.
Knox fired a closing 66 at Ballyliffin, then beat Ryan Fox with a birdie on the first playoff hole for his first worldwide win since the 2016 Travelers Championship. The win comes one week after a T-2 finish at the HNA French Open, and it helped the Scot jump from No. 87 to No. 49 in the latest rankings.
After falling as far as No. 137 in June, Knox is back inside the top 50 for the first time since the Wyndham Championship in August. While he was already exempt for The Open, Knox’s win earned him a spot at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Updated Official World Golf Ranking
Kevin Na’s breakthrough victory at The Greenbrier earned him a similar bump in the world rankings, as Na went from No. 65 to No. 41. Fox’s runner-up in Ireland helped the Kiwi go from No. 124 to No. 87, while Kelly Kraft moved up 62 spots to No. 124 after finishing second behind Na in West Virginia.
There was no change among the top 10 in the rankings, with Dustin Johnson remaining world No. 1 followed by Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm. Jordan Spieth is still No. 6, with Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood rounding out the top 10.
With his next start expected at Carnoustie, Tiger Woods fell two spots to No. 69 in the latest rankings. He’ll need to be ranked inside the top 50 on either July 23 or July 30 to qualify for the Tour’s final trip to Firestone Country Club in August.
Source: Internet
