Jim Furyk went to a seven-hole playoff with Tiger Woods at
the NEC Invitational Sunday and although he did not come out victorious, he jumped
four spots to ninth in the latest World Golf Rankings.
Woods won the NEC Invitational for a third consecutive year
and held on to his No. 1 ranking. The win stopped a streak of five consecutive
finishes outside the top-10 for Woods.
Phil Mickelson held on to second place, followed by David Duval,
Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.
Davis Love III remained in sixth and Sergio Garcia, who is
competing in this week's International Open on the European Tour, held on to seventh.
The young Spaniard is playing on the European Tour this week because this event
marks the last week for qualifying for the 10 automatic spots on the European
Ryder Cup team and Garcia is currently 19th on the points list.
Darren Clarke finished alone in third at the NEC Invitational
and jumped one place to No. 8.
Furyk, who will be representing the United States at the Belfry
at the end of September, rose four places thanks to his epic playoff with Woods.
Furyk won earlier this season at the Mercedes Championships.
David Toms, the PGA Championship winner, fell two spots to
round out the top-10.
Colin Montgomerie fell one to 11th, followed by Mike Weir and
Lee Westwood, who both dipped one notch as well.
Thomas Bjorn kept his 14th-place ranking from last week as
he prepares to defend his title at the International Open.
Padraig Harrington stayed at 15th, while Retief Goosen vaulted
up three spots to No. 16.
Hal Sutton dropped one to 17, followed by Michael Campbell
and Scott Hoch. Mark Calcavecchia remained in 20th place.
