World ranking boost for Dunne

Paul Dunne

Padraig Harrington fell two spots to 122nd following his share of 56th in the Sony Open but Paul Dunne jumped 115 places to 553rd thanks to his first career top 10 in the Joburg Open.

Dunne was disappointed that he could only manage a level par 72 in the final round in South Africa but he also said that he'd learn from the experience as he heads to the US to prepare for a appearances in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach.

Harrington closed with a level par 70 in the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club to finish on seven under par as Argentina's Fabian Gomez shot an eight under 62 and then beat Brandt Snedeker in a playoff after they had finished on 20 under par.

Shane Lowry, still 21st in the world, is back in Ireland for a week following last weekend's European win the EurAsia Trophy and will then join Dunne in the US for a run of events that will see him criss-cross the Atlantic several times between now and the Irish Open in May.

Graeme McDowell fell six places to 63rd following his missed cut in the Sony Open and all eyes now turn to this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the clash of world No 1 Jordan Spieth with No 3 Rory McIlroy and No 6 Rickie Fowler.

Successful EurAsia Cup skipper Darren Clarke is also in the Abu Dhabi field alongside Michael Hoey and McIlroy.