Henrik Stenson rose back to No. 5 in the world with his win at The Open Championship and runner-up Phil Mickelson rocketed up to 13th, his highest standing in two years.
Stenson closed the gap significantly on No. 4 Rory McIlroy, trailing the former No. 1 points (9.3918-8.776). Jason Day spent his 16th week in a row and 20th overall as No. 1. In two weeks he will tie Lee Westwood for 11th place for most weeks spent at No. 1.
Mickelson rose six spots to No. 13. He hasn’t won this year, but he’s playing fantastic golf and has risen 21 spots from No. 34 to star the year. J.B. Holmes, who finished a distant third, rose eight spots to No. 16, his career-best.
Lost in the pageantry of Stenson-Mickleson was the US’ Steve Stricker finishing fourth at age 49. The two-time PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year, Stricker finished in the top five of a Major for the fourth time, but the first since 1999. He famously cut his playing schedule in half prior to the 2013 season, paring it down to 10-12 tournaments in order to spend more time with his family.
Stricker played between 9-13 tournaments in the 2013-2015 seasons, but has upped his count to 11 through the Open Championship this year. He has three Top 10 finishes and jumped from 167th to 86th in the world rankings thanks to the finish.
GolfBlogger.co.uk 