Sentosa:
Seasoned Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh returned to the top 50 of world rakings, benefitting from new regulations which would now brighten his chances of playing in the US Masters in April.
The Indian star was one of the beneficiaries of new regulations that came into effect in the first week of this year.
If he manages to stay in the elite bracket till the end of March, it would guarantee Jeev a fourth appearance in the year's opening Major at Augusta National, as well as the other Majors and World Golf Championships events.
"With the introduction of a maximum divisor in the way the world rankings are tabulated, Singh's divisor was adjusted from 66 to the maximum of 60 this week, which meant an increase in his average ranking points," the Asian Tour said in a statement.
As he has playing rights on the US PGA Tour this year, Jeev will have every opportunity to further improve his rankings with strong performances.
It has been a Masters tradition over the years for Augusta National to invite the reigning Asian Tour number one.
In July last year, the Governing Board of the Official World Golf Ranking approved a measure to introduce a "Maximum Divisor" into the World Ranking system.
This divisor will be for a player's last 52 events -- the current average number of events played by the world's top 200 players over the two-year ranking cycle.