JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Justin Harding has moved up five spots to a career-best 44th in the latest world golf rankings released on Monday.
Harding is now SA’s number two-ranked golfer as he has moved ahead of Branden Grace. Grace moved down one place to 45th after his 58th position at The Masters.
Harding, 33, finished an impressive 12th place in his debut appearance at The Masters at Augusta on Sunday.
For his efforts, Harding collected a cheque for R3.1m and an invite back to next year’s event.
The takeaway: @JustinHarding60 fought for and deserves his place among golf’s elite
He's 44th on @OWGRltd after his share of 12th @TheMasters even if that was overshadowed by @TigerWoods
Harding’s ranking anchors in reality the feel-good stuff out there #ItBeginsHere #soproud pic.twitter.com/xbxqsZZAjk
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) April 15, 2019
At the end of 2017 Harding was ranked 712th in the world, but since February last year he’s played in 22 countries, registering 16 top-10 finishes including five wins - most notably his debut European Tour victory at the Qatar Masters on March 17.
Louis Oosthuizen, meanwhile, slipped two spots to 21st in the world after his 29th place finish at the Masters. The 2010 Open champion remains SA’s top-ranked player on the world stage.
Dylan Frittelli is 93rd, while Shaun Norris is 94th.