OWGR: Matsuyama highest ranked Asian

As we sail past the halfway mark this season,  Hideki Matsuyama retains the honour of being the highest  ranked Asian. The Japanese star is currently ranked 15, down one spot from last week, but up eight from last season. Meanwhile,  Thongchai Jaidee rose to a career high 34^th on the back of his T2 finish at the Alstom Open de France last week. Indians

Jaidee was also victorious at the Nordea Masters in Sweden last month, helping him continue his climb up the rankings. He has risen twelve spots since the beginning of the year – no mean feat, considering that it has all come inside the top 50.

Thongchai, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, KJ Choi and Lahiri will represent the Asian Tour and compete in The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool next week. Other Asians in the fray include Y.E. Yang, Masanori Kobayashi and Yoshinobu Tsukada, Juvic Pagunsan, Wu Ashun, Koumei Oda and Kim Hyung-sung.

 Anirban Lahiri, our top ranked golfer slipped four, dropping to 85^th in the world. Shiv Kapur’s T18 finish in Paris has helped him scale six spots to 167^th, but he is still down from where he began the season. Kapur was ranked 143^rd at the end of last year.

Gaganjeet Bhullar’s missed cut is costing him dear – he has slipped twenty places to be ranked 256^th this week. Rashid Khan, one of the country’s most promising golfers, is at 316^th in the world. Keeping him company in that neighbourhood are SSP Chowrasia (363) and Rahil Gangjee (387).

Jyoti Randhawa is the only other in this vicinity – though he has lost eight rungs last week, he is ranked 415^th. Jeev Milkha Singh needs to earn a few good results to get his place on the OWGR a degree of respect. The Scottish Open this week is a perfect opportunity – he won the tournament two years ago.

Singh slid 25 spots to be placed 698^th this week. Chiragh Kumar is ranked 753^rd and completes the list of Indians ranked inside the top 1000 golfers in the world. The PGTI Super Series leader Shubhankar Sharma is just outside the rung – at 1029^th, perhaps not too far away from breaking in.

Report by Anand Datla

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