England’s Justin Rose has risen to the top of the world golf rankings for the first time after finishing in second place at this weekend’s BMW Championship.
Rose, who is the reigning Olympic champion and 2013 U.S Open winner, climbed from fourth place and replaced Dustin Johnson as world number one.
Narrow miss
He narrowly missed out on his 10th PGA TOUR win after losing to Keegan Bradley in a sudden-death playoff at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.
Both golfers finished 20 under par after increment weather made the course unplayable, delaying the final round. Bradley required just one extra hole to seal the victory.
“Boyhood stuff”
Commenting on his impressive achievement, the 38-year-old told Sky Sports it was “boyhood dream stuff, something I am incredibly proud of.”
“I thought it was a good putt as I’ve hit to win a tournament. To see it spin out was really unfortunate. I’d always envisaged getting to number one by winning tournaments,” he said on his missed four-foot putt.
The nine-time PGA TOUR winner is only the fourth Englishman to reach the top of the Official World Golf Rankings. Only Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald had achieved this.
“It’s been a good stretch of golf. I’ve played solidly over the past year. I’m delighted to get to the top,” Rose added.
Justin Rose heading to the Ryder Cup
Rose, who is also a member of the European Tour, will soon be jetting off to France and competing in the 42nd Ryder Cup tournament.
The Englishman qualified for the prestigious international competition—which will be held from September 28-30 at Le Golf National in Paris—due to being second on the European points list.
He is behind Italian Francesco Molinari, who recently won The Open Championship at Carnoustie.
See also: Furyk Adds Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to U.S. Ryder Cup Team