LOS ANGELES: Justin Thomas (pix) has taken the lead in the golf world rankings with a victory at the prestigious World Golf Championships series on Sunday.
The 27-year-old American won in Memphis with a total score of 267 strokes. Defending champion Brooks Koepka (270 shots) came in a shared second place together with his fellow countrymen Phil Mickelson, Daniel Berger and the Briton Tom Lewis.
Thomas received prize money of around US$1.89 million (RM7.98m) for his 13th win on the PGA Tour.
It's the second time in his career he has held the No.1 ranking. He snatched the spot from Jon Rahm, who only held it for two weeks.
The WGC series usually consists of four highly paid events and ranks behind the four majors in terms of prestige. This season, however, there have only been three WGC tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
US star Tiger Woods did not play in Memphis and is focused on preparing for the PGA Championship. The tournament, which has now become the first major of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place in San Francisco starting Thursday.
Meanwhile on Sunday, fellow US golfer Richy Werenski won the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, also securing himself a place in the PGA Championship.
Werenski finished one point ahead of second-placed Troy Merritt in the US$3.5m (RM14.8m) tournament. – dpa
