Van Zyl a step closer to Augusta
South African Jaco van Zyl has broken into the top 50 in the World Golf rankings released on Monday, following his playoff victory at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship on Sunday.
Van Zyl moved up from 68th to 49th in the world, with his third win at the SA PGA Championships. The 37-year-old ousted compatriot Dean Burmester on the first playoff hole.
For Van Zyl, it means he could receive an invite to the first Major of the year, the Masters at Augusta in the first week of April.
Van Zyl needs to remain in the top 50 until the week before the Masters to secure his entry. If Van Zyl makes the starting list for the Masters, it will mean he will have played in all four Majors.
Van Zyl played in the US Open and PGA Championship in 2013 before teeing it up at The Open in 2015. Playing at the hallowed grounds of Augusta may also just spur Van Zyl on to making the weekend in a Major for the first time in four attempts.
Burmester, meanwhile, with his second place finish moves up to 86th in the world from 100th. Burmester has won four times on the Sunshine Tour this season and leads the Chase to the Investec Cup points standings by a considerable margin. The 26-year-old’s move up the ranking means South Africa now have six players ranked inside the top 100 best golfers on the planet.
Louis Oosthuizen also made a significant move in the right direction from 21st to 19th in the rankings, following his one-stroke victory in the ISPS HANDA Perth International on Sunday.
Branden Grace remains the top-ranked South African, although he slips down one spot to 11th. Charl Schwartzel also drops down one place to 32nd. George Coetzee moved down one spot to 77th.
ANA