LONDON, July 22 — Rory McIlroy rose to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning his first British Open title, while Tiger Woods fell to ninth.
McIlroy, a 25-year-old Northern Irishman, won golf’s oldest major tournament yesterday to become the third-youngest player to win three of golf’s four annual grand slam events. McIlroy entered the event No. 8 in the rankings. Australia’s Adam Scott has held the No. 1 ranking since May 25.
Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 career majors is a record, was 23 when he captured his third major at the PGA Championship in 1963. Tiger Woods, who now has 14 major titles, was 24 when he won the 2000 U.S. Open for his third major win.
Woods, 38, finished 69th in the British Open, his second tournament since undergoing back surgery. The result dropped Woods four spots to No. 9 in the ranking behind Australia’s Jason Day and one spot ahead of American Jim Furyk. Woods’s 6- over-par 294 score marked his worst 72-hole performance in a major and left him four shots out of last place.
Both Nicklaus and Woods have won the career Grand Slam three times over, with victories in the US and British opens, as well as at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and the PGA Championship. — Bloomberg
