Matteo Manassero wins Maybank
The Maybank Malaysian Open received its highest ever world ranking points allocation last week, topping even the Texas Open on the PGA Tour.
Italian teenager Matteo Manassero earned a whopping 42 ranking points to shoot up to 33rd place on the latest world rankings issued on Monday while runner-up Gregory Bourdy of France leaped from 123rd to 88th position after picking up 25.2 points.
Iris star Rory McIlroy, who finished third, jumped from ninth to seventh place on the rankings after adding 16.8 points to his collection.
Ranking points were awarded until the tied 46th finishers in the Maybank Malaysian Open which was held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
The winner of the Texas Open, Brendan Steele, earned 28 points while points were awarded until the joint 30th finishers.
The allocation of world ranking points is based on the strength of the field each week. World number one Martin Kaymer of Germany competed in Malaysia along with new Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen, also from South Africa.
The Maybank Malaysian Open was jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour, which allowed the Asian-based players to compete for higher world ranking points as well as a record US$2.5 million prize pot last week.
The top-three players in the world right now are Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, both from England.
Second ranked Westwood will star in the inaugural Indonesian Masters starting at Royale Jakarta Golf Club on Thursday. The US$750,000 event is a full-field Asian Tour tournament.
