Morten Ørum Madsen was one of the big winners in the Official World Golf Ranking last week as a fine maiden victory at the South African Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni propelled the Dane up 123 places.
Madsen, who finished two clear of South Africans Jbe Kruger and Hennie Otto at Glendower Golf Club to triumph in the opening event of The 2014 Race to Dubai, moved from 244th to 121st and within touching distance of joining compatriots Thomas Bjorn (34) and Thorbjørn Olesen (58) in the all-important top 100.
More than 8,000 miles away in Japan, meanwhile, England’s Luke Donald successfully defended the Dunlop Phoenix tournament with a six-stroke winning margin to jump back inside the top 15 of the World Ranking from 17th.
Donald, who won the title by five a year ago, carded a five under par 66 at Phoenix Country Club for a winning 14 under par total of 270 with Korean Hyung-Sung Kim second.
Five birdies in the first 11 holes gave Donald a comfortable advantage and he matched the two bogeys he made on the closing stretch with two birdies as he strode to victory.
In South America, four-time European Tour winner Ricardo Gonzalez prevailed at the Abierto del Litoral in Argentina at his home course, Rosario Golf Club.
The Argentine put together rounds of 66-69-64-69 to finish 12 under par and claim a four-shot victory over the likes of former European Tour winners Andres Romero and Daniel Vancsik.
At the sharp end of the World Ranking, Jason Day made the most headway as his victory at the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf saw the Australian move from 18th to 11th place as 2013 nears its denouement.
The top 50 come the end of the year qualify for the opening Major Championship of the 2014 season – the Masters Tournament at Augusta.
