Ernst, Rumford rise in world golf rankings

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VIRGINIA WATER, England, May 6 (UPI) -- First-time PGA winner Derek Ernst rockets up the men's golf rankings and back-to-back European Tour winner Brett Rumford is back in the Top 100 as of Monday.

Ernst, the fourth alternate entered into the PGA's Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, defeated David Lynn on the first playoff hole in rainy and cold conditions Sunday for his first professional championship.

He turned professional last year and was 1,207th in the rankings going into the Wells Fargo. The win lifts him to 123rd.

Rumford, a 14-year professional, ended a 5 1/2-year winless span April 28 with a European Tour win in South Korea and backed that up with a title Sunday at the Volvo China Open. He's gone from 253rd to 122nd to 76th in the rankings the last three weeks.

Phil Mickelson was third at the Wells Fargo Championship and moves to 10th in the rankings, pushing Matt Kuchar to 11th. That is the only change in the rankings' Top 10.

Tiger Woods has a ranking average of 11.79 for the No. 1 spot, with Rory McIlroy second at 10.40. Adam Scott (7.81) is third with Justin Rose fourth at 6.67 and Luke Donald's average of 6.46 fifth-highest.

Brandt Snedeker is sixth at 6.33, followed by No. 7 Louis Oosthuizen (5.75), eighth-ranked Graeme McDowell (5.43) and No. 9 Steve Stricker (5.34).

Mickelson average is 5.32 while Kuchar's is 5.28.