Wagner jumps in Official World Golf Ranking with hot start to 2012

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MARANA, Ariz. -- One week after claiming his third-career PGA TOUR victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii, American Johnson Wagner continued his terrific start to the 2012 season with a runner-up finish to Mark Wilson at the Humana Challenge. With three top 10s to start the year, highlighted by the victory in Hawaii, Wagner has improved his standing in the Official World Golf Ranking 152 positions in just three weeks. After beginning the season at No. 220 in the OWGR, Wagner is now No. 68 and on the verge of qualifying for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship for the first time.

The Accenture Match Play Championship, the first World Golf Championships event of the 2012 season, returns to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, February 20-26. The top 64 players in the OWGR ranking as of Monday, February 13, will qualify.

Wagner's victory was the third of his career on the PGA TOUR, following victories at the 2008 Shell Houston Open and the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic. He is the only player to record top 10s in each of the first three events of the 2012 season, adding a T9 at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions to his victory in Hawaii and runner-up effort at the Humana Challenge. The Virginia Tech product has qualified for a World Golf Championships event once previously, finishing T71 at the 2008 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He is not in the field this week at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA TOUR.

"The significant jump Johnson Wagner has made in the Official World Golf Ranking through the first three events this year is what will make the next three weeks so exciting to watch as the field for the Accenture Match Play Championship begins to take shape," said Executive Director Gerald Goodman. "It only takes one week for a player currently outside of the top 64, perhaps even outside of the top 100, to find winning form and play their way into the field here at the Accenture Match Play Championship."

Wilson, who qualified for the Accenture Match Play Championship for the first time in 2011, captured the fifth victory of his PGA TOUR career with his two-shot win at the Humana Challenge. The victory improved his standing in the OWGR from No. 57 to No. 40 and he is in good shape to make a return trip to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, next month. He qualified at No. 51 in the OWGR in 2011 and defeated Dustin Johnson in the First Round in 19 holes before falling to Bubba Watson in the Second Round, 6 and 5.

South African Branden Grace earned his second-consecutive victory on the European Tour at the Volvo Golf Champions with a playoff victory over Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. He won his first event on the European Tour the week prior at the Joburg Open. Following the two victories, Grace has moved from No. 258 in the OWGR to No. 92. Grace has never competed in a World Golf Championships event.

American Steve Stricker, a staple at the Accenture Match Play Championship for the last five years and winner of the 2001 event, captured the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions on the PGA TOUR earlier this month. He is currently the highest-ranked American in the OWGR at No. 5.

With three weeks remaining before the field is set for the Accenture Match Play Championship, a number of familiar faces are either on the "bubble" or outside of the top 64 looking in. Young Matteo Manassero of Italy, who advanced to the third round of the 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship in his first appearance, is currently No. 60 while former University of Arizona standout Jim Furyk is No. 55. Vijay Singh (No. 70) and Els (No. 57) have a combined 22 appearances at the Accenture Match Play Championship, while Italy's Edoardo Molinari (No. 73) has competed in the event in each of the last two years.