Damien McGrane scorched past Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie to a career high 130th in the world.

Now he wants to push on and win his second tour title after grabbing his best finish for over nine months in the Qatar Masters.

The Kells ace, 37, jumped 43 places up the latest rankings thanks to his fourth place finish in Doha and has now improved by 189 spots since he outscored Tiger Woods in Dubai last year.

Up to 18th in the Race to Dubai, McGrane said: "To finish easily in the top 10 is a nice reward, especially so early in the season.

"I have played a lot of good golf and it is a positive thing going forward. Hopefully I have plenty more to come this year."

McGrane played the last two round alongside Woods in Dubai last season and used the experience as a springboard to his first tour win.

He said: "I remember it fondly and it was a positive experience for me. I used it positively and used it to my advantage afterwards.

"And I am glad I had that time with him (Tiger). My friends think about it continuously. It is a great memory to have and the sooner he gets back here the better."

But Woods might not be world No 1 when he eventually returns to action after Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington edged closer to him in the latest rankings.

When Woods left the game for knee surgery after his US Open win last June, he had an 11 point lead over Phil Mickelson.

But the gap is down to less than three points over in-form Garcia with Harrington just over four ranking points adrift after jumping from 13th to third in the world in the past six months.

Latest world rankings: 1 Tiger Woods 10.75pts, 2 Sergio Garcia 7.95, 3 Padraig Harrington 6.67, 4 Phil Mickelson 6.67, 5 Vijay Singh 6.41, 6 Geoff Ogilvy 5.08, 7 Henrik Stenson 4.93, 8 Robert Karlsson 4.93, 9 Anthony Kim 4.78, 10 Camilo Villegas 4.70.

Other Irish: 34 Graeme McDowell; 39 Rory McIlroy; 73 Darren Clarke; 92 Gareth Maybin; 116 Paul McGinley; 130 Damien McGrane; 179 Peter Lawrie; 304 Michael Hoey; 390 Gary Murphy; 461 Michael McGeady.