Dubai: Louis Oosthuizen’s runner-up finish behind Zach Johnson in the Open Championship at St Andrews on Monday has moved the South African up to second place in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings.
Johnson prevailed after a four-hole play-off with Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman after the trio tied on 15 under par in regulation.
As a result, Oosthuizen, who won The Open the last time it was held at St Andrews in 2010, has now closed the gap on Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy to within 421,175 points.
There were also big points earned for Danny Willett, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, who all finished tied for sixth.
Willett was second on the Race to Dubai before play and gained ground on the absent McIlroy with his best ever finish in a Major, but he was overtaken by Oosthuizen to drop to third in the overall standings. The Englishman now sits 551,536 points clear of fourth-placed Bernd Wiesberger.
Rose moved up one place to sixth, while Garcia has virtually guaranteed his spot in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai by moving up to 28th from 46th place with 665,774 points.
Historically, anything above 500,000 points has secured players a place in the European Tour’s season-ending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates, which this year will be held from November 19 to 23.
Elsewhere, South Africa’s Branden Grace consolidated his position in the top ten in the Race to Dubai with a 20th place finish, while England’s Anthony Wall jumped from 57th to 44th thanks to his 12th place finish.
General admission tickets for the DP World Tour Championship are free of charge and can be obtained by registering online at www.DPWorldTourChampionship.com. Those who register will also be placed into a prize draw with the chance to win a pair of VIP Hospitality tickets for the Championship Chalet.
