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Rose bounces back into top 50

Justin Rose claimed his first PGA Tour title by winning the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village © Getty Images

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Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell completed a superb weekend for European golf by moving up to 33rd and 36th in the world rankings respectively after their wins on both sides of the Atlantic.

2007 European Tour Order of Merit winner Rose looked back to his best as he claimed his maiden PGA Tour title at the Memorial Tournament to become the third European to win in the US this year, while McDowell, who last won at Loch Lomond back in 2008, upstaged the field at Celtic Manor to lay down a Ryder Cup marker with a three-shot win at the Wales Open.

Because of the relative strengths of the fields, Rose earned 66 ranking points compared to McDowell's 38 to lift him 33 spots. The Ulsterman, who enjoyed an eight-place shift, qualified for the upcoming US Open at Pebble Beach with a decent showing at last month's PGA Championship and is looking forward to a big summer after hitting form in spectacular style at Celtic Manor with two rounds of 63 and 64 over the weekend.

"This has been coming for a while," McDowell said."I need a big summer - I need to keep playing the way I am playing - and there is no doubt winning here is going to stand me in good stead.

"If I don't qualify automatically (for the Ryder Cup) and I am looking for a pick, this is certainly going to be a good feather in my cap.

"But my goal is to make the team automatically. Valhalla a couple of years ago did nothing but stoke the fires as far as my desire to be on the next team."

Welshman Rhys Davies timed his bid for a place at the US Open perfectly by grabbing his second straight runner-up finish in Newport. The Welshman moves into the top 50 for the first time at 45th and added further weight to his hopes of claiming a surprise Ryder Cup spot.

Elsewhere, another good week for Luke Donald saw him move up one place to eighth at the expense of countryman Paul Casey, while Rory McIlroy cemented his position as world No. 10 with a decent showing at Memorial.

World Rankings: 1. Tiger Woods (USA), 2. Phil Mickelson (USA), 3. Lee Westwood (ENG), 4. Steve Stricker (USA), 5. Jim Furyk (USA), 6. Ian Poulter (ENG), 7. Ernie Els (RSA), 8. Luke Donald (ENG), 9. Paul Casey (ENG), 10. Rory McIlroy (NI), 11. Anthony Kim (USA), 12. Martin Kaymer (GER), 13. Robert Allenby (AUS), 14. Padraig Harrington (IRE), 15. Camilo Villegas (COL), 16. Zach Johnson (USA), 17. Retief Goosen (RSA), 18. Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), 19. YE Yang (KOR), 20. Lucas Glover (USA).

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