AFTER FINISHING 13th at last weekend's Pro Players Championship at Valley Forge, Shawn Putnam has moved into top spot in the 2011 US Mosconi Cup rankings. The 39 year-old from Ohio jumps up from third place following the disqualification of Earl Strickland, who in turn has slumped to third.
Putnam is just seven points ahead of two-time Mosconi veteran Dennis Hatch, and will be looking to add to his only previous appearance in the event in Las Vegas in ‘05 where he won two matches to help his side to a comfortable 11-6 victory.
It's tight at the top though, with potential rookie Mike Dechaine just 12 points outside the top three and Corey Deuel and Stevie Moore snapping at his heels. Shane Van Boening is looking ominous at No.7 while Johnny Archer, a nine-time Mosconi winner, has hit the top ten for the first time.
The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 12 events – eight domestic events and four ‘World' events. Points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event will be weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.
Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and at the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.
The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.
The next qualifying event is the Ultimate Ten Ball Championship which runs from 21 to 24 April and takes place in Frisco, just north of Dallas, Texas.
