Paul Casey's play-off victory in the Volvo China Open at the weekend has seen him return to the world's top 50.
Casey, who beat fellow Englishman Oliver Wilson in sudden death after cancelling out a five-stroke final-round deficit with a sparkling 65, moves up from 61st to 49th, just ahead of Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell.
If both can keep their positions for another month they will earn invitations to next April's Masters at Augusta.
By not playing in China, David Howell has lost his place as Britain's top golfer. The points system used to decide world rankings means that Howell, conqueror of Tiger Woods in the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai three weeks ago, is narrowly overtaken by World Cup partner Luke Donald.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington is just ahead of both of them at 11th in the table.
