Dustin Johnson officially reclaimed the No. 1 spot from England’s Justin Rose in the official world golf rankings released Monday.
FILE PHOTO: Feb 24, 2019; Mexico City, MEX; Dustin Johnson poses for a photo with the trophy after winning the final round of the WGC – Mexico Championship golf tournament at Club de Golf Chapultepec. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Both players were idle this week, but Johnson moved 0.0008 points ahead of Rose based on the two-year rolling system. Brooks Koepka moved past Justin Thomas for the No. 3 spot following his tie for second at the Honda Classic.
Rickie Fowler tied Koepka in the first event of the Florida swing, which allowed him to move past Xander Schauffele and Spain’s Jon Rahm to No. 7.
Koepka and Fowler were preparing for a three-way playoff at the Honda Classic until Keith Mitchell rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Mitchell’s first career PGA Tour victory vaulted him 94 spots to a career-high 68th.
Only three of the top 20 players were in last week’s field. Tiger Woods, who will play at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, remained No. 12.
Kurt Kitayama won the Al Mouj Golf tournament for his second victory on the European Tour this season, which moved him to a career-high ranking of 105.
—South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park reclaimed the top spot in the Rolex Rankings following her victory at the HSBC World Championship in Singapore. She moved past Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.
Australia’s Minjee Lee is followed by South Koreans So Yeon Ryu and Inbee Park in the top five. Japan’s Nasa Hataoka moved up one spot ahead of Lexi Thompson, the top-ranked American at No. 7.
—Vijay Singh has decided to stay in Florida and play in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational rather than defend his title at the Hoag Classic on the Champions tour.
Singh, 56, was in the final group at PGA National on Sunday, but his attempt to become the oldest winner on the PGA Tour fell short as he finished in sixth place. Singh won his first Champions event at the event in Newport Beach, Calif., last year, which then was known as the Toshiba Classic.
“We are extremely disappointed the defending champion is not coming back to play this year,” said Jeff Purser, executive director of Hoag Charity Sports and the Hoag Classic, per the Orange County Register.
—Field Level Media