Dean Burmester finished in a share of 10^th in the Genesis Scottish Open at the weekend to become the third-ranked South African player on the Official World Golf Ranking list at 82^nd going in to the 150^th Open Championship at St Andrews this week.

Burmester reversed a long downward trend on the weekly rankings since his career-high of 64^th which he achieved with his second-place finish behind Shaun Norris in the Steyn City Championship back home in South Africa on March 20.

Since then, he had five missed cuts, a share of 40^th and a share of 21^st until he got things going in the right direction with his performance in Scotland in the first tournament co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.

Norris, ranked 85^th this week, and missing from Scotland as a result of his participation in the LIV Golf exhibitions, was one of the players overtaken by Burmester in his rise of 10 places. Erik van Rooyen was the other, as he slipped six places to 89^th after missing the cut in Scotland.

South Africa’s top-ranked player remains Louis Oosthuizen. He was down two places to 24^th, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who had a share of 16^th in Scotland, rose two places to 57^th to be the second-highest ranked South African.

Oosthuizen is also one of two South Africans who have won the Open in the field this week. The other is Ernie Els, who won in 2002 and 2012. Els, who now competes on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, has a world ranking of 1,806^th this week.

There are six other South Africans – including amateur Aldrich Potgieter, who got in on the back of his triumph in the 127^th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes on June 18 – in the field at the Old Course in St Andrews this week. They are Dylan Frittelli (ranked 152^nd), Justin Harding (118^th), Garrick Higgo (132^nd), Thriston Lawrence (131^st) and Zander Lombard (373^rd). Potgieter is the 55^th-ranked amateur in the world this week after reaching a career-high of 52^nd in June.

Lawrence’s position is a career-high for him, making him the 10-best ranked South African on the world list. He started the year in 230^th after winning the Joburg Open on the DP World Tour last November, and he finished third in the Horizon Irish Open just over a week ago.

South Africa’s top 10

1. Louis Oosthuizen (24 – down 2)
2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (57 – up 2)
3. Dean Burmester (82 – up 10)
4. Shaun Norris (85 – down 1)
5. Erik van Rooyen (89 – down 6)
6. Oliver Bekker (99 – down 1)
7. Justin Harding (118 – down 4)
8. Charl Schwartzel (125 – up 1)
9. Branden Grace (130 – up 2)
10. Thriston Lawrence (131 – up 2)