[Golf Topic] 'Tokyo Olympic Gold' Shopliffe "I am Number 4"... 'Silver' Sabatini Jumps 93 Steps

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○…‘Number 4’.

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele (USA, photo) has risen to 4th place in the world rankings. He received 7.42 points in the weekly official golf world rankings announced on the afternoon of the 2nd (Korean time). This came at the moment he secured a one-stroke victory (18-under 266) by adding 4-under on the final day of the men's golf event at Kasumigaseki Golf Club (par 71) in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, on the 1st. Silver medalist Rory Sabbatini (Slovakia) jumped an impressive 93 places to 111th, while bronze medalist Pan Cheng-tsung (Taiwan) climbed 73 places to settle at 135th.

‘US Open champion’ Jon Rahm (Spain) is 1st, Dustin Johnson 2nd, and ‘The Open champion’ Collin Morikawa (both USA) is 3rd. Rahm was hampered by a positive COVID-19 test just before the Olympics. On the third day of the Memorial Tournament on the 6th of last month, he surged with an 8-under round to take a commanding 6-stroke lead but withdrew, marking the second time this has happened. For Korea, Im Sung-jae (23) is ranked 27th, Kim Si-woo (26) 54th, and Lee Kyung-hoon (30, all from CJ Logistics) is 62nd.