European Tour Notebook: McIlroy rockets up to 13th in world ranking

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Europe's leading money winner Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter are both at career-high places in the world rankings as they enter this week's season-ending Dubai World Championship.

McIlroy, whose runner-up finish in the UBS Hong Kong Open took him ahead of Lee Westwood on the Order of Merit, now stands 13th, while Poulter is one place ahead of him.

Westwood's poor performance in Hong Kong means he drops to fifth, and Paul Casey, out of this week's event because of a rib injury, is back up to fourth.

Tiger Woods stretched his lead over Phil Mickelson to more than seven points by capturing the JBWere Masters in Australia.

HIGH RYDER: Rory McIlroy also has taken the top spot on the European Ryder Cup points table by virtue of his strong finish in Hong Kong. McIlroy leads the world points list over No. 2 Simon Dyson, No. 3 Lee Westwood and No. 4 Padraig Harrington, with four players qualifying off that list. Just behind that quartet are Ian Poulter, Francesco Molinari, Alexander Noren, Hong Kong winner Gregory Bourdy, Ross McGowan and Ross Fisher.

An additional five players will quaify off the European points list. The five players currently holding those spots are Poulter, Fisher, Molinari, Noren and McGowan.

BENSON KEEPS CARD: A trip all the way to Melbourne paid off for England's Seve Benson on Sunday when he saved his European Tour card by the skin of his teeth with a 17th-place finish at the JBWere Masters.

The event was added to the Tour schedule only last month and the 23-year-old rookie took the chance to make the vital move up from 121st to 120th on the money list.

Benson earned just over $15,000 and ended the season about $10,000 ahead of 121st-placed Jean-Francois Lucquin, who was already exempt through his European Masters win last year.

Although only the top 115 cardholders retained their exempt status for next season, the actual cutoff point went down to 120 as American Anthony Kim, Colombian Camilo Villegas, South Africans Tim Clark and Rory Sabbatini and Canada's Stephen Ames are not full members and do not count.

Benson was saved by the fact that former British Open champion Ben Curtis withdrew from the Hong Kong Open because of injury. Curtis had opened with a 65, but by pulling out he dropped off the Order of Merit because he did not compete in 12 tournaments.

Ireland's Gary Murphy, Scotland's Callum Macaulay and Englishmen Lee Slattery and Miles Tunnicliff failed to achieve the results they needed to keep their cards, though, and now face a return to Q-School.

Copyright 2009 PA Sport. All rights reserved.