Schaeffler, McIlroy, Rahm Maintain 'Top 5' Positions
Kim Joo-hyung 21st, Im Sung-jae 39th, An Byeong-hoon 42nd
'Houston Open Champ' Stephan Jaeger (Germany) has risen to 43rd in the world rankings.
Stephan Jaeger (right) is smiling brightly while holding the trophy immediately after winning the Texas Children's Houston Open. [Houston=AP·Yonhap News]
In the men's golf weekly world rankings announced on March 31 (local time), he earned 2.2817 points, jumping 28 spots from 71st last week. He secured a one-stroke victory (12-under 268) at the PGA Tour Texas Children's Houston Open (total prize money $9.1 million) held at Memorial Park Golf Course (par 70, 7,435 yards) in Houston, Texas, USA. This was his first win in his 135th PGA Tour start since joining in 2018. The winner's prize money was $1,638,000 (approximately 2.2 billion KRW).
Jaeger gained attention for stopping world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) from winning three consecutive tournaments. While he has six wins on the PGA Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour, this is his first victory on the PGA Tour. He also earned entry into the season's first major, the Masters starting on April 11, as well as the remaining four elite tournaments this season.
There was no change in the 'Top 5' with Houston Open runner-up Scheffler, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain), Wyndham Clark, and Xander Schauffele (both USA). For Korea, Kim Joo-hyung rose one spot to 21st compared to last week. Im Sung-jae is 39th, An Byeong-hun 42nd, and Kim Si-woo is ranked 45th.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
