Els, Duke use titles to jump in world golf rankings

VIRGINIA WATER, England, June 24 (UPI) -- Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els and first-time PGA Tour winner Ken Duke climb in the men's world golf rankings, which were updated Monday.

Els recorded his 28th European Tour win in Germany Sunday with a third consecutive 69 -- after opening the tournament with a 9-under-par 63 -- at the BMW International Open. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011 and is one of 16 players to have been ranked No. 1 in the world.

The win in Munich put him 14th in the rankings, an improvement of six places.

Duke, like Els born in 1969, moves to No. 70 in the rankings after starting last week at 144th. He had four professional wins before Sunday when he beat Chris Stroud on the second hole of a playoff to win the Travelers Championship for his first win on the PGA Tour.

The Top 10 in the men's world golf rankings is unchanged from a week ago. The list, with player, home country and rankings points average:

1. Tiger Woods, United States, 12.89

2. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland, 9.53

3. Justin Rose, England, 8.16

4. Adam Scott, Australia, 7.43

5. Matt Kuchar, United States, 6.73

6. Phil Mickelson, United States, 6.21

7. Luke Donald, England, 6.06

8. Brandt Snedeker, United States, 5.98

9. Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland, 5.51

10. Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa, 5.19