Shaun Norris might have lost out in the play-off at the weekend in the Joburg Open, but his share of second saw him back inside the world’s top 100 on the latest Official World Golf Ranking list issued on Monday.

Norris has been on a steep upward journey on the official rankings since he won the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup on the Japan Golf Tour late last year, and he reached 89^th after his Joburg Open showing after climbing another 14 places with that performance.

He’s still some way off his career-high of 54^th, but good showings in the remaining Sunshine Tour tournaments, the play-off events on March 20 and March 27, could see him make substantial progress towards that position.

According to the official list, he is currently the fourth-best player in South Africa, behind Christiaan Bezuidenhout on 51, Thriston Lawrence in 64^th, and Erik van Rooyen in 85^th.

The man who shared second at Houghton at the weekend with Norris after also losing out in the play-off, Jacques Kruyswijk, got an even more substantial boost in his official ranking position. He climbed 42 places to 177^th. That’s his best-ever position on the list, and it marks the first time he has been ranked inside the world’s top 200.

Unlike Norris, he is not staying in South Africa for the Sunshine Tour’s play-off series, but returning to Europe to continue his campaign on the DP World Tour.

Dylan Frittelli also got a solid boost from his Joburg Open performance, climbing 44 places t0 287^th. He’s a long way off his career-high of 44^th.

Outside the country’s top 10 players, amateur Kieron van Wyk jumped an astonishing 1,542 places to 683^rd on the rankings thanks to his share of fourth in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

South Africa’s top 25:

1. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 51 (up 3)
2. Thriston Lawrence 64 (down 1)
3. Erik van Rooyen 85 (down 1)
4. Shaun Norris 89 (up 14)
5. Aldrich Potgieter 112 (down 3)
6. Dean Burmester 139 (down 2)
7. Daniel van Tonder 152 (up 13)
8. Jacques Kruyswijk 177 (up 42)
9. Jayden Schaper 212 (up 5)
10. Robin Williams 223 (up 4)
11. Christo Lamprecht 227 (up 12)
12. Louis Oosthuizen 246 (down 8)
13. Dylan Naidoo 249 (down 3)
14. Brandon Stone 268 (up 3)
15. Barend Botha 276 (down 1)
16. Dylan Frittelli 287 (up 44)
17. Zander Lombard 294 (down 10)
18. Wilco Nienaber 297 (down 4)
19. Casey Jarvis 308 (down 6)
20. Ryan van Velzen 309 (down 4)
21. Garrick Higgo 325 (up 18)
22. Deon Germishuys 327 (down 7)
23. Darren Fichardt 379 (down 3)
24. Ian Snyman 385 (up 5)
25. Jaco Ahlers 388 (up 6)