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Woods and Snedeker crack top 20 in world rankings after strong showings

By PGA.com news services
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Woods and Snedeker crack top 20 in world rankings after strong showings

LONDON -- Tiger Woods will be back in action next week eager to show that his error-strewn finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was just a minor setback on the comeback trail.

Woods slipped from a tie for first after 54 holes into a tie for third, two shots behind surprise winner Robert Rock, after finding only one fairway on the back nine and six greens in regulation all day.

Inevitably, the former world No. 1 was disappointed not to make it back-to-back victories after ending more than two years without a win last month at his unofficial Chevron World Challenge. But having finished third, first and third in his last three starts, he said he was pleased at the progress he’s made.

"I just need to keep building, keep getting more consistent," Woods said. "I felt I was just a touch off. A couple of the balls were going further than I thought they normally would, so I've got to kind of reassess that and try to figure that out."

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is the next stop for Woods -- where Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will be his celebrity partner -- and after that is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Woods was outside the world's top 50 at the start of last month, but now he is back inside the top 20, having risen all the way to No. 17. Rock climbed up to 55th from his previous rank of 117.

Halfway around the world at Torrey Pines, Brandt Snedeker’s victory in the Farmers Insurance Open vaulted him up to 15th from his previous perch at No. 33. And even with his shocking loss to Snedeker, Kyle Stanley climbed from 150th up to 87th place.

Rory McIlroy’s second-place finish in Abu Dhabi moved him past Lee Westwood into second in the rankings behind No. 1 Luke Donald, while Westwood slipped down to third. Elsewhere in the top 10, the rankings remained the same, with Donald atop the standings for the 35th straight week. Martin Kaymer remains fourth, with Americans Steve Stricker and Webb Simpson holding down fifth and sixth, respectively. Adam Scott is seventh, with reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel eighth, big-hitting Dustin Johnson ninth and young Australian Jason Day in 10th place.

The second 10 includes No. 11 Graeme McDowell, No. 12 Matt Kuchar, No. 13 K.J. Choi, No. Nick Watney, No. 15 Snedeker, No. 16 Phil Mickelson, No. 17 Tiger Woods, No. 18 Sergio Garcia, No. 19 Hunter Mahan and No. 20 Justin Rose.

Stanley, meanwhile, is adamant that he will be back to contest many more tournaments in the future, even after suffering one of the worst meltdowns in PGA Tour history.

He had started the final day at Torrey Pines five strokes clear before making birdies at each of the opening two holes. And though Snedeker whittled away at his lead, Stanley still arrived at the final hole holding a three-shot advantage. But needing just a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 18th to claim his first PGA Tour title, he proceeded to take eight shots before losing a playoff to Snedeker.

At the 570-yard 72nd hole, his third-shot approach landed beyond the pin but spun back 25 feet and rolled off the front of the putting surface and into a greenside pond. After taking a one-shot penalty, he chipped to the back of the green only to three-putt from 45 feet -- his second missing from five feet.

"It's really tough to take right now. But I know I'll be back. I'm not worried about that," said a dejected Stanley, who covered the back nine in 41 for a closing 74. "I just need to be patient. One of my goals coming into this year was to keep putting myself in position and I'll do that."

As for the shot that rolled back into water, he added: "I tried to lay it up close. I thought I had a pretty good shot but it just had too much spin. Looking back, I don't really know what I was thinking.

"It's really a pretty straightforward par 5," he said. "I could probably play it a thousand times and never make an 8."