Woods down to 58th in the world, McIlroy second

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.

The event in Sydney brings together Woods and his former caddie Steve Williams, who admitted that remarks he made about the American on Friday night “could be construed as racist”.

New Zealander Williams has since issued an apology, but the controversy is bound to dominate the build-up to this week and next week’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Further up the order, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy replaces Westwood in second place, while England’s Luke Donald retains top spot.

Latest leading positions in the world golf rankings:

1 Luke Donald 10.47pts, 2 Rory McIlroy 7.51, 3 Lee Westwood 7.48, 4 Martin Kaymer 7.11, 5 Dustin Johnson 6.06, 6 Steve Stricker 6.02, 7 Jason Day 5.58, 8 Adam Scott 5.48, 9 Matt Kuchar 5.33, 10 Webb Simpson 5.29

11 Phil Mickelson 5.26, 12 Nick Watney 5.13, 13 Charl Schwartzel 4.79, 14 Graeme McDowell 4.73, 15 KJ Choi 4.71, 16 Justin Rose 4.15, 17 Bubba Watson 4.11, 18 Sergio Garcia 4.08, 19 Hunter Mahan 4.01, 20 Paul Casey 3.87

Other leading Europeans:

25 Ian Poulter, 27 Robert Karlsson, 29 Thomas Bjorn, 31 Simon Dyson, 32 Fredrik Jacobson, 34 Anders Hansen, 35 Darren Clarke, 37 Miguel Angel Jimenez, 38 Francesco Molinari, 40 Martin Laird, 46 Alvaro Quiros, 51 Peter Hanson, 52 Matteo Manassero, 61 Edoardo Molinari, 64 Alexander Noren, 71 Nicolas Colsaerts, 78 Ross Fisher, 79 Padraig Harrington, 80 Jamie Donaldson, 87 Pablo Larrazabal, 90 David Lynn, 95 Raphael Jacquelin, 97 Fredrik Andersson Hed, 98 Carl Pettersson