Jeev moves up to 146th; Randhawa, Shiv Kapur slid in rankings

New Delhi, July 24 (UNI) Thanks to his tied fifth finish at the Sega Sammy Cup in Hokkaido, Jeev Milkha Singh climbed up two notches to 146th and consolidated his stature as the highest ranked Indian golfer, while Arjun Atwal too moved up a rung to 183, overtaking compatriot Shiv Kapur in the process.

Jeev could not qualify for the British Open and returned to his happy hunting ground, the Japan Tour, and the seasoned Indian came up with yet another top-five finish that saw him reaching the 146th spot with 1.11 average points, according to the Official World Golf Ranking announced today.

Randhawa (.99), country's highest ranked golfer for long but not in the best of form in the recent past, slid three rungs to 164.

Orlando-based Arjun Atwal (.88), who finally seemed to have arrested his slide in the PGA Tour, improved his position by a place and reached 183, after his tied 17th finish in the three million dollar BC Open at the Atunyote Golf Course near New York.

Shiv Kapur (.88), who missed the cut in his maiden major appearance at the just-concluded British Open, slipped nine rungs to finish at 184.

At the top of the table, Tiger Woods, after his emotional two-stroke triumph over fellow American Chris DiMarco in the British Open, leads the chart with an 8.51 average point lead over nearest rival and compatriot Phil Mickelson.

Top 10: 1. Tiger Woods, USA (18.28) 2. Phil Mickelson, USA (9.77) 3. Vijay Singh, Fiji (8.23) 4. Jim Furyk, USA (7.34) 5. Retief Goosen, South Africa (7.01) 6. Adam Scott, Australia (6.14) 7. Ernie Els, South Africa (5.98) 8. Geoff Ogilvy, Australia (5.80) 9. Sergio Garcia, Spain (5.45) 10. Luke Donald, England (4.95).

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