Harding, Kruger the big world ranking climbers

Mar 22, 2021 | Featured, South Africans abroad

Big wins for Justin Harding and Jbe’ Kruger over the weekend resulted in big jumps for both on the Official World Golf Ranking, as Harding reversed a downward trend to his position.

Harding’s victory on the European Tour’s Magical Kenya Open in Nairobi saw him jump 74 places on the list into 121^st, and into the top 10 South Africans in 10^th place at the expense of Daniel van Tonder.

Kruger’s leap was even more impressive: His gritty triumph in the Sunshine Tour’s Gauteng Championship at Ebotse Links gave him a 180-place boost to 289^th. While that’s a far cry from the 109^th he found himself in after his breakthrough win in the Avantha Masters in 2012, his performance put him on a trajectory he will believe can get him into the world’s top 100.

George Coetzee continued his steady upward climb on the list as he reached 82 after his solid share of 16^th in Kenya. He’s now 10 spots higher than he was at the start of the year, and his consistency augurs well for the rest of 2021 – with a spot inside the world’s top 50 a distinct possibility.

Louis Oosthuizen remains South Africa’s top-ranked player, unchanged in 23^rd after an inactive week. Christiaan Bezuidenhout was also unchanged after not playing last week, in 35^th, but the third-ranked South African, Erik van Rooyen, slipped two spots after an average week at the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.

It was outside the South African top 10 where some big improvements happened. Martin Rohwer’s runner-up spot in the Gauteng Championship saw him up in 288^th, a jump of 128, and Neil Schietekat, who so nearly won, climbed 52 positions in 284^th.

There are seven South Africans in the world’s top 100, with Garrick Higgo (108), Shaun Norris (114) and Harding all close to breaking through at that level. There are 14 inside the top 200, and 23 inside the top 300, with Thriston Lawrence in 300^th after slipping 14 places after the Gauteng Championship.

South Africa’s top 10: