Spain’s Javi Colomo was the shock leader of the UBS Hong Kong Open after the first round today – with world number one Rory McIlroy nine shots behind and needing a big improvement just to survive the halfway cut.

Miguel Angel Jimenez gave himself another chance to become the European Tour’s oldest-ever winner when he began the UBS Hong Kong Open with a five under par 65 today.

Richie Ramsay claimed the second European Tour victory of his career after winning the Omega European Masters title by four shots at Crans-sur-Sierre in the Swiss Alps.

Tiger Woods returns to action in the Australian Open this week down at 58th in the world – just one year after losing the number one spot to Lee Westwood.

Sergio Garcia has climbed from 31st to 18th in the world following his second successive victory at the Andalucia Masters.

Martin Kaymer and last week’s winner Thomas Bjorn took over at the top with dazzling runs as the Omega European Masters tried to beat the weather in Switzerland today.

Tiger Woods has dropped another three places to 36th in the latest world rankings.

Tiger Woods, expected to announce later this week that he is returning to action at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Thursday week, is out of the world’s top 20 for the first time since January 1997.

Frenchman Gregory Havret was among a group of four players at the head of the field in the second round of the China Open at Chengdu.

Italian Matteo Manassero will celebrate his 18th birthday tomorrow as the 33rd ranked golfer in the world.

Australian Aaron Baddeley is up from 224th to 73rd in the world after winning the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in California.

Graeme McDowell has now moved level with Phil Mickelson in fourth place in the world rankings as both build up to this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship.

Graeme McDowell’s heroics in Hawaii over the weekend have left him poised to take the world number four spot off Phil Mickelson.

Pablo Martin’s successful defence of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa has seen him leap more than 100 places on the world rankings.

Graeme McDowell is up to a career-high seventh in the world after his amazing victory over Tiger Woods in California.

Graeme McDowell will have to finish in the top three of the Dubai World Championship this week just to have a chance of denying Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer the European Tour number one spot.

Adam Scott’s victory at the Barclays Singapore Open today has taken him back into the world’s top 20.

Francesco Molinari extended his advantage at the HSBC Champions to three strokes as the Italian carried yesterday’s fine form into today’s second round in Shanghai.

Padraig Harrington has moved back into the world’s top 20 with his first victory in over two years at the Johor Open in Malaysia.

Lee Westwood had something to celebrate today even before he teed off in his Ryder Cup singles against Steve Stricker at Celtic Manor.

Jim Furyk’s win at the Tour Championship – by a shot from England’s Luke Donald - sees America go into their defence of the Ryder Cup this week with four of the world’s top five players.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who was given a Ryder Cup wild card for Europe, falls out of the top 20 in the world rankings for the first time in more than four years.

American Charley Hoffman’s runaway five-shot win at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston – the second event of the FedEx Cup play-offs – lifts him from 132nd to 51st in the world.

Paul Casey may feel down in the dumps, but he has moved up in the world.

Sweden’s Peter Hanson is up to 40th in the world, a rise of nine places, with his victory at the Czech Open.

THIRTEEN players are separated by only two shots at the halfway stage of the Czech Open – and they include two of the men chasing a Ryder Cup place.

Thirteen players are separated by only two shots at the halfway stage of the Czech Open – and they include two of the men chasing a Ryder Cup place.

Sweden’s Peter Hanson turned up the Ryder Cup heat on Paul Casey even more today by taking a share of the lead three times at the Czech Open in Celadna.

Sergio Garcia is down to 50th in the world and is in an even more precarious Ryder Cup position than Tiger Woods.

Ross Fisher has scraped back into the world’s top 20 after his 3 Irish Open victory.

Less than one point now separates the world’s top three golfers – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood – and any of the three could be number one after next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

The new US Open champion Graeme McDowell will have to wait until just before 2pm on Thursday when he tees off with two former winners of that title, Jim Furyk and Geoff Ogilvy at the Open in St Andrews.

FOUR Irish amateurs have the opportunity to emulate Shane Lowry’s amazing success at Baltray last year and upstage the professionals in the ‘3’ Irish Open Championship.

Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose are up to 36th and 33rd in the world after their wins on both sides of the Atlantic.

Brian Davis’ second runners-up finish of the year in America has taken him from 110th to 72nd in the world.

Simon Khan has climbed a massive 365 places on the world rankings to 106th following his stunning BMW PGA Championship victory at Wentworth.

England’s Simon Khan, ranked 471st in the world and not even in the event until Monday, was in dreamland at Wentworth tonight when he came from seven behind to win the second most important title in European golf.

SWEDEN’S Fredrik Andersson Hed admitted the result was all that mattered after stuttering to his maiden European Tour title in the Italian Open.

Englishman Richard Bland was one of the biggest third-round movers as the Avantha Masters looks set for a dramatic finale with seven players ending the day tied for the lead on 11 under par.

Sweden’s Fredrik Andersson Hed and Indian Shiv Kapur – 431st and 361st in the world respectively – shared the lead after six holes of the final round in the South African Open at Pearl Valley today.

Scotland’s Lloyd and Elliot Saltman today became the first brothers to qualify for The Open since Seve and Manuel Ballesteros 26 years ago – both of them by the skin of their teeth.

Sweden’s Christian Nilsson held a four-shot lead after the third round of the Saint-Omer Open in northern France following a six-under-par 65 today.

Sweden’s Christian Nilsson carded three birdies in his first six holes to overtake compatriot Fredrik Andersson Hed in the second round of the Saint-Omer Open in northern France.

Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed carded six birdies in a blemish-free round of 65 to claim a one-stroke lead on the first day of the St Omer Open in northern France.