Lee Westwood And Justin Leonard Jump Over 3,200 Spots In The World Golf Rankings After Strong Open Championship Showings

At The 153rd Open Championship, it was Scottie Scheffler who claimed the Claret Jug in a dominant showing, with the World No.1 moving himself three-quarters of the way towards the Career Grand Slam.

Remaining at the top of the tree in terms of the Official World Golf Ranking, several players made big moves in the ranking department following the final men's Major of the season, but none more so than Ryder Cup legend, Lee Westwood, and former Champion Golfer of the Year, Justin Leonard.

Making his first appearance in The Open Championship since 2022, Westwood qualified for the competition via Final Qualifying, topping the standings at Dundonald Links.

Firing rounds of 69 and 70 on Thursday and Friday, the Englishman comfortably made the cut in his 28th Open appearance, sitting three-under for the event after 36-holes.

Although he fell away at the weekend, carding rounds of 69 and 73 to finish in a tie for 34th, the strong showing meant he saw his OWGR position go from 4689th to 930th, a staggering rise of 3,759 spots.

Not to be outdone, Leonard, who won the Claret Jug in 1997 and has a free pass into The Open Championship until the age of 60, also put in a strong showing in Northern Ireland.

Missing the cut in 2024, following seven years away from the championship, the 53-year-old fired rounds of 70 and 73 to sit one-over-par, making the cut on the number.

Playing his first weekend at The Open Championship since 2013, Leonard then carded further rounds of 70 and 73 to finish two-over-par and in a share of 59th place.

The main bonus wasn't just the $41,550 paycheck, but also a significant jump in the OWGR, seeing his position go from 4,689th to 1,436th, a rise of 3,253 places.

The reason for the significant jumps in the OWGR is down to the circuits both men play on, with Westwood part of the LIV Golf League, while Leonard is on the PGA Tour Champions.

Neither circuit possesses OWGR points due to the fact that neither Tour hits the relevant criteria. That means the duo can only receive OWGR points from playing on the 24 eligible Golf Tours.

In terms of what's next for both men, Leonard will take some confidence and form into The Senior Open, which gets underway at Sunningdale on 24th July.

Westwood, meanwhile, will be teeing it up at LIV Golf UK at the JCB Golf & Country Club on the 25th July, which is the home event for the Englishman's Majesticks GC side.

In terms of other players who made big moves in the OWGR at The Open Championship, Harris English, who finished second, went from 19th to 8th, his highest ever position in the OWGR.

Dustin Johnson, who also plies his trade on the LIV Golf League, jumped from 969th to 571st, while Sergio Garcia went from 467th to 370th.

Henrik Stenson, one of Westwood's Majesticks GC teammates, jumped 680 spots to 969th, while Phil Mickelson went from 1252th to 924th.