Mickelson returns to No. 2 in the world

After his win at golf's unofficial 5th major, Phil Mickelson closes in on Tiger Woods at the top of the World Rankings while England's Lees Westwood returns to the top 50.

Three times major champion Phil Mickelson has won back his place as the world?s No. 2 according to the official rankings released today. Mickelson finished two shots clear of Sergio Garcia to win golf?s biggest competition outside of the four majors to regain his place. Three Americans now top the World Rankings; the other two are Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. This marks the perfect start to his relationship with, one of golf?s most successful coach, Butch Harmon. Phil will now look to close the gap on Tiger who is 11.15 average points ahead of him, at the U.S. Open. Lefty is the best performer in the competition over the last five years, with two seconds and a third.

Another winner at the weekend who has moved up the rankings is Lee Westwood. The Englishman finished 20 under par at the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia to take his first title in nearly four years. Westwood has risen 15 places, which takes him back into the Worlds top 50. If he manages to hold onto the position for the next two weeks he we qualify for the second major of the year.

The highest placed Briton is Luke Donald, who sits just inside the top ten. The World Rankings are calculated by dividing a players total number of points over a two-year period by the number of tournaments played.

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