Enlarge imageBy Tony Jimenez
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher have reached career highs in the world rankings issued on Monday.
Poulter jumped six places to 15th after winning the Singapore Open on Sunday while fellow Englishman Fisher climbed nine places to 17th following his victory at the World Match Play Championship in Spain.
The pair also boosted their hopes of winning the inaugural Race to Dubai later this month, with Fisher moving up to fourth on the money list and Poulter rising to 10th.
"I was a bit disappointed to slip down to seventh after recently missing two big cuts (at the Dunhill Links Championship and Portugal Masters)... so I knew I had to perform," Fisher told reporters after collecting his third European Tour title.
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"Getting to the final was good but I really wanted to win because there is a big difference between winning and finishing runner-up," he added after beating American Anthony Kim 4 & 3 to claim a first prize of 750,000 euros (677,593 pounds).
The 28-year-old Fisher was one of the most consistent performers in this year's four majors.
He was joint 30th in the U.S. Masters, fifth at the U.S. Open, tied 13th in the British Open and tied 19th at the U.S. PGA Championship but without a 2009 victory until Sunday.
"It has given me a massive confidence boost, the only thing missing this year was a win," said Fisher.
"I feel like I have played very consistently. To be one of the leading guys in the majors shows my golf has been pretty good this year."
The next European Tour stop for Fisher and Poulter is this week's WGC-Champions Tournament in China featuring seven of the world's top 10 including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
(Editing by Ken Ferris)
