Kuchar soars to No 5

European Tour

Matt Kuchar has soared 11 places on the World Rankings list to No 5 after his victory at The Players on Sunday.

Matt Kuchar has soared 11 places on the World Rankings list to No 5 after his victory at The Players championship on Sunday.

And his latest triumph in the World’s richest and most highly contested event on the US PGA Tour outside of the majors means that there are now six Americans in the World’s top 10 to just four Europeans.

Along with Kuchar they are newly crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson who is fourth, Hunter Mahan (6th), Tiger Woods (7th), Steve Stricker (8th) and Phil Mickelson (10th).

German Martin Kaymer, at No 9, is now the only ‘top tenner’ who is neither British or American on a ranking list in which Britons continued to hold the top three places after this past weekend’s results.

Rory McIlroy, despite missing the cut at The Players, has managed to hang onto his No 1 crown after his English challengers, World Nos 2 and 3, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, both failed to finish high up enough at Sawgrass on Sunday to unseat him and regain the No 1 spots they have both held at one time or another in the see-sawing past year.

Westwood, who needed to win, finished way down the field among the 60s, and Donald, needing a sole 4th or better, alone in sixth place.

Scot Martin Laird, who gave Kuchar a good run for his money (the first prize exceeded $1,7m) but in the end, had to settle for a four-way tie for second, hoisted himself eight spots to 31st.

The top 20 on the latest World Rankings list are now:

1 Rory McIlroy 9.65
2 Luke Donald 9.52
3 Lee Westwood 8.27
4 Bubba Watson 6.52
5 Matt Kuchar 6.22
6 Hunter Mahan 5.60
7 Tiger Woods 5.29
8 Steve Stricker 5.27
9 Martin Kaymer 5.23
10 Phil Mickelson 5.16
11 Webb Simpson 5.10
12 Justin Rose 5.08
13 Adam Scott 4.98
14 Louis Oosthuizen 4.87
15 Charl Schwartzel 4.80
16 Jason Day 4.69
17 Dustin Johnson 4.66
18 Rickie Fowler 4.51
19 Bill Haas 4.32
20 Graeme McDowell 4.25

Other leading Europeans:

23 Sergio Garcia
24 Peter Hanson
28 Ian Poulter
31 Martin Laird
32 Francesco Molinari
36 Carl Pettersson
37 Thomas Bjorn
40 Simon Dyson
41 Paul Lawrie
42 Alvaro Quiros
46 Robert Karlsson
47 Anders Hansen
48 Fredrik Jacobson
51 Nicolas Colsaerts
54 Paul Casey
56 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
57 Miguel Angel Jimenez
59 Robert Rock
60 Matteo Manassero
61 Rafael Cabrera Bello
70 Darren Clarke
76 Pablo Larrazabal
80 Michael Hoey
81 Alexander Noren
84 Joost Luiten
87 Brian Davis
91 Richie Ramsay
95 Padraig Harrington
96 Stephen Gallacher
100 Bernd Wiesberger

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