Thriston Lawrence climbed seven places on Monday to 90^th in the latest list released by the Official World Golf Ranking, and is just three spots away from reclaiming his position as South Africa’s top-ranked player.

It was a great week for the South African Open champion with his fifth place in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, and he gets a chance to ride the wave of that kind of form as the 2024 season of the DP World Tour kicks off with the Joburg Open at Houghton Golf Club this week.

With Erik van Rooyen, the current top-ranked South African at 87^th, not in action this week, a strong showing by Lawrence should get him back to the top of the heap.

Shaun Norris and Zander Lombard each climbed four places on the world list thanks to solid performances in Japan and in Dubai respectively. Lombard was up to 167^th and Norris to 386^th and both will try and use the Joburg Open this week to continue their upward trends.

Another player in action in the Joburg Open is Dylan Frittelli, who will want to find some form after a poor season on the PGA Tour which saw him lose his playing privileges on that circuit, other than some starts he might get as a former winner on the tour. He has dropped outside the top 20 players in South Africa according to the world rankings, and is ranked a lowly 417^th.

South Africa’s top 20:

1. Erik van Rooyen 87 (down 2)
2. Thriston Lawrence 90 (up 7)
3. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 115 (up 1)
4. Dean Burmester 154 (down 8)
5. Zander Lombard 167 (up 4)
6. Garrick Higgo 172 (down 2)
7. Hennie du Plessis 198 (down 4)
8. MJ Daffue 242 (down 13)
9. Ockie Strydom 245 (down 5)
10. Louis de Jager 265 (down 7)
11. Jaco Ahlers 285 (down 5)
12. Oliver Bekker 293 (down 4)
13. Casey Jarvis 315 (down 4)
14. Deon Germishuys 342 (down 5)
15. George Coetzee 353 (down 7)
16. Shaun Norris 386 (up 4)
17. Jacques Kruyswijk 389 (down 4)
18. Jbe’ Kruger 403 (up 1)
19. Wilco Nienaber 407 (down 2)
20. JC Ritchie 410 (down 10)