Sergio Garcia back in golf's Top 10

VIRGINIA WATER, England, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Sergio Garcia collected his first tournament title in about a year and returned to the men's world golf rankings Top 10 as of Monday.

Garcia won the Thailand Golf Championship by four strokes Sunday, holding off world No. 3-ranked Henrik Stenson. It was the first win for Garcia since last December's Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia. It is, like the Thailand Golf Championship, an event on the Asian Tour.

Although he hadn't picked up a win in a year, Garcia did have 10 Top 10 finishes in 2013. That, combined with the win in Thailand, which was his 25th as a professional, boosts him nine spots in the world rankings to No. 10.

Garcia's move up comes at the expense of Brandt Snedeker, who slips three places to 13th in the rankings.

Dawie van der Walt claimed the win Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Championship. Van der Walt ended up with a two-stroke victory after a 4-under-par 66 Saturday. It was his second European Tour win and sixth professional title overall. He goes from 337th to No. 194 in the world rankings.

No. 7-ranked Matt Kuchar teamed with Harris English for the win at the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Kuchar's ranking is unchanged but English edges up two spots to 53rd.

The PGA Tour and European Tour are off until January. The PGA's first event of the new year is the Hyundai Tournament of Champions Jan 3-6 in Hawaii. The next European Tour tournament is the Jan. 9-12 Volvo Golf Championships, which, like the Nelson Mandela Championship, is in Durban, South Africa.

The men's world golf rankings Top 10, listing player's name, home country and ranking points average:

1. Tiger Woods, United States, 11.69

2. Adam Scott, Australia, 9.60

3, Henrik Stenson, Sweden, 9.16

4. Justin Rose, England, 7.16

5. Phil Mickelson, United States, 7.06

6. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland 6.50

7. Matt Kuchar, United States, 6.15

8. Steve Stricker, United States, 5.72

9. Zach Johnson, United States, 5.45

10. Sergio Garcia, Spain, 5.31