12/22/08 6:54 AM
Richard Sterne won for a second straight week as he beat Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin on the first play-off hole in the South African Open after both players finished their 72 holes tied at 274 at Pearl Valley Golf Estates. Sterne, who also won the Alfred Dunhill Championship, shot a final round of 66 to finish on 14 under par. Maybin had a chance to win on the final hole of regulation but saw his birdie putt from eight feet lip out. When the players returned to the 18th in sudden death Sterne produced a birdie four to claim victory. The win takes Sterne back into the World Top 50 as he jumps to 43rd in the Final Official World Golf Ranking of 2008, up 31 spots. Another Northern Ireland player, 19-year-old Rory McIlroy, finished tied third to move to World Number 39 and secure an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament.
TIGER WOODS has held the World Number One position for a total of 529 weeks and his nearest challenger is Sergio Garcia after his promotion to World Number Two following his win at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
The other players who have had official World Number 1 status in the 22 year history of the Ranking are BERNHARD LANGER (3 weeks), SEVE BALLESTEROS (61 weeks), GREG NORMAN (331 weeks), NICK FALDO (97 weeks), IAN WOOSNAM (50 weeks), FRED COUPLES (16 weeks), NICK PRICE (44 weeks), TOM LEHMAN (1 week), ERNIE ELS (9 weeks), DAVID DUVAL (15 weeks) and VIJAY SINGH (32 weeks)
Official World Golf Ranking as of 1/6/2009 in the World.
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