Share

Schwartzel reaches career high

Johannesburg - Defending Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has risen to a career high of number six in the world, as he looks to be finding his best form at the right time ahead of the Masters in April.

Latest Top 20 in the world rankings

The South African moved up three positions from last week's rankings, courtesy of a share of fourth place in the World Golf Championship PGA Tour event at the TPC at Blue Monster in Doral, Florida on Sunday.

Schwartzel fired a final-round four-under 68 for a 13-under-par 275 total, just three strokes behind English winner Justin Rose.

Rose climbed 15 positions with the win but finds himself at seventh in the rankings behind Schwartzel.

In a windy final round, in which Tiger Woods stole the headlines again - this time for withdrawing with an Achilles strain - Schwartzel began with an eagle three on his par-five first hole. He picked up another stroke on the fifth with a birdie on the par four.

Schwartzel then failed to make birdie on the par-five eighth hole before giving a shot back at the par-three ninth.

He then went on a familiar run, which had won him his maiden Major, as he reeled of three birdies in four holes from the 12th hole.

Standing on the 16th tee, the 27-year-old had moved to within a stroke of the lead but was unable to pull off any more heroics and dropped a shot on the difficult par four 18th to settle for fourth place.

Schwartzel also rose from 70th to 35th in the FedEx Cup points standings from only his third PGA Tour event of the season.

The next best South African was Garth Mulroy who finished in a tie for 29th on five under for the week.

Branden Grace put in a solid performance, claiming a share of 35th and Retief Goosen was further down in a tie for 45th.

South African Open champion Hennie Otto ended 50th, new European Tour winner Jbe' Kruger was and Louis Oosthuizen finished in a share of 60th position.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 808 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 405 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE