Bradley Dredge just made it into the top 50 qualifying spots

Even though he did not play last week, Dredge has leapfrogged England's Justin Rose into 50th place by just 0.01 world ranking points.

Dredge is guaranteed the spot as there are no further ranking tournaments in the last two weeks of the year.

Lee Westwood will play in his eighth Masters after moving to 49th spot with eighth place in the SA Airways Open.

He is one of a record 26 Europeans who have already qualified for the first major of 2007.

Rose, who got married at the weekend, has not been back to the Masters since he led at halfway in 2004 before crashing to a third-round 81.

He could still make it, though. The world's top 50 the week before are also invited, as are the top 10 on the US Tour money list.

Joining Dredge as a debutant in the event will be England's Kenneth Ferrie, thanks to his sixth place finish at the US Open, and Scot Richie Ramsay, the first British player to win the US Amateur since 1911.

Swedes Robert Karlsson and Johan Edfors, plaus Frenchman Julien Guerrier, winner of the British Amateur championship, will also make their debut.

Edfors, who 13 months ago was at the European Tour qualifying school, has climbed from 410th to 48th in the world in 2006 and Karlsson from 216th to 31st.

The other huge leaps into the top 50 came from Indian Jeev Milkha Singh and American Brett Wetterich. Singh began the year 376th and is now 37th, while Wetterich jumped from 294th to 40th.

There are three changes in the top 10, where Tiger Woods has reigned as number one since June 12 2005.

In come Ireland's Padraig Harrington (17th to eighth), Luke Donald (13th to ninth) and Australia's US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (50th to 10th).

Out go Sergio Garcia (sixth to 11th), Colin Montgomerie (eighth to 17th) and Chris DiMarco (10th to 20th).

Ernie Els' SA Open victory, his first of the year, lifts him from eighth back to the fifth spot where he started the year.