European Tour Notebook: Westwood becomes highest-ranked European

HONG KONG -- Lee Westwood is back into the world No. 4 spot he last occupied eight years ago -- and has become Europe's highest-ranked player once again.

An eighth-place finish in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai moved Westwood above Paul Casey, whose rib muscle injury flared up again and forced his retirement on the final day.

Casey has returned to America to see a specialist. He has pulled out of this week's Hong Kong Open and is doubtful for next week's Dubai World Championship, where a victory could give him the European Tour money list title for the first time.

Even though Ian Poulter was only 45th in China, he improves two spots to a career-high 13th, but Ross Fisher drops two to 19th despite finishing 28th.

That is because Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy were second and fourth respectively and, as a result, climb to 16th and 17th.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH: England's Ross Fisher has been named the European Tour Golfer of the Month for October after his victory in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain.

The 28-year-old, who will receive a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne along with an engraved alms dish in recognition of his achievement, beat American Anthony Kim 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final to move up to fourth in The Race to Dubai and 17th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

The judging panel commended several other players for their performances in October, most notably Sweden's Michael Jonzon, who began the week of the Castello Masters harboring fears about keeping his card for 2010, but ended it with a two-year exemption after winning the tournament.

In addition, Englishmen Simon Dyson, Ross McGowan, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were praised by the panel for their victories in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Madrid Masters, the Barclays Singapore Open and the Portugal Masters respectively, as was Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang, who won the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on the Asian Tour.

Fisher joins Rory McIlroy (January), Geoff Ogilvy (February), Søren Kjeldsen (March), Angel Cabrera (April), Shane Lowry (May), Nick Dougherty (June), Martin Kaymer (July), Lee Westwood (August) and Rafael Cabrera-Bello (September) as a winner of The 2009 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month Award.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR McILROY: Hard work paid off for Rory McIlroy in Shanghai as his fourth-place finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions thrust the youngster from Northern Ireland firmly into contention for the Race to Dubai title.

McIlroy, 20, carded a brilliant course-record final round of 9-under 63 to finish three shots adrift of winner Phil Mickelson.

And after continuing his timely strong finish to the season, McIlroy trimmed Lee Westwood's lead at the top of the Order of Merit to less than $75,000 with just two events remaining after leapfrogging Martin Kaymer into second place.

But even with Westwood and McIlroy heading to Hong Kong this week and Kaymer heading to Germany to rest and for further treatment on his surgically-repaired foot, the European Tour's race for the Harry Vardon trophy will still go down to the season-ending Dubai World Championship later this month.

"It certainly gives me momentum going into the next two weeks," said McIlroy. "I'm feeling a lot better about my game than I was. Hopefully, it's a springboard into the next two weeks and I'm looking forward to it.

"I've been working hard, my ball striking wasn't the best over the first few days. I hit it poorly on Thursday and as the week progressed I've hit it gradually better and better and then everything just clicked into place," he added. "I hit my irons well and got it up and down when I needed to. It was just a very, very solid final round."

After winning his first European Tour title with a wire-to-wire victory in Dubai at the start of the year, McIlroy is in the hunt for a first Order of Merit title in just his second full season.

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