Thomas takes second in rankings, McIlroy returns to top five

AFP 6 August 2018: American Justin Thomas regained second place in the world rankings from Justin Rose on Monday after easing to a four-shot victory in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at the weekend.

The 25-year-old will start the defence of his USPGA Championship title on Thursday in red-hot form after his fifth tournament win in the last 12 months.

Dustin Johnson remains world number one, though, after a thrilling charge on Sunday ultimately saw him finish tied for third in Akron.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy moved back into the top five for the first time since September 2017, despite falling out of contention at Firestone with a disappointing final round.

World top 20

1. Dustin Johnson (USA) 10.77 average pts

2. Justin Thomas (USA) 9.49 (+1)

3. Justin Rose (ENG) 8.83 (-1)

4. Brooks Koepka (USA) 7.87

5. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 7.37 (+2)

6. Francesco Molinari (ITA) 7.27

7. Jon Rahm (ESP) 7.24 (-2)

8. Jordan Spieth (USA) 6.99

9. Rickie Fowler (USA) 6.62

10. Jason Day (AUS) 6.39

11. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 6.12

12. Patrick Reed (USA) 5.46

13. Alex Noren (SWE) 5.42

14. Bubba Watson (USA) 5.23

15. Paul Casey (ENG) 5.19

16. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 4.69

17. Henrik Stenson (SWE) 4.63

18. Marc Leishman (AUS) 4.52 (+1)

19. Xander Schauffele (USA) 4.45 (-1)

20. Webb Simpson (USA) 4.29

Selected:

21. Phil Mickelson (USA) 4.23

23. Sergio Garcia (ESP) 4.13 (-1)

51. Tiger Woods (USA) 2.42 (-1)