Donald on top again

Luke Donald reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking from Rory McIlroy by winning the US PGA Transitions Championship on Sunday, but wants McIlroy and Tiger Woods to enjoy the Masters spotlight.

Two weeks before players gather at Augusta National for the first major tournament of the year, England’s Donald won a four-man playoff to take back the top ranking spot he surrendered when McIlroy won in Miami two weeks ago.

'Well I enjoyed it while it lasted!' McIlroy said in a Twitter message. 'Congrats Luke Donald! Impressive performance!'

Donald, the reigning money champion of the US and European PGA Tours, has never won a major title and he hopes that his lofty status does not mean he might draw attention away from US Open winner McIlroy or 14-time major master Woods.

'There might be a little bit more hype around me now,' Donald said.

'I’ll probably be able to go about my business with a bit more attention, but I’ve been through that. I still think Rory and obviously Tiger will be getting a lot of the attention.

'I can kind of go about my business and not have to deal with as much as those two are dealing with.'
Neither Donald nor McIlroy plan to play again before the Masters, while Woods, coming off a strained Achilles tendon, plans to play the Tavistock Cup 36-hole exhibition and the PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational in the coming week.

Donald plans some practice sessions with McIlroy this week and next in Florida and the top ranking figures to be a topic of conversation.

'I’m sure he got a taste of the view and I’m sure he’ll want more of it,' Donald said.

Donald sank a six-foot birdie on the first playoff hole on Sunday to defeat South Korean Bae Sang-Moon and Americans Jim Furyk and Robert Garrigus, but that was after a spectacular 159-yard approach from the rough with a 7-iron barely cleared greenside bunkers.

Donald said: 'That shot just came out perfectly. You never quite know out of the rough. That one, just when it was in the air, looked good to me.'

Furyk, co-leader when the day began, was frustrated he could not hold the lead. 'The speed of my putts was off,' Furyk said. 'I left some makeable putts short. I could have done better with the opportunities I left myself.'

Garrigus missed a seven-foot birdie just ahead of Donald’s winning putt.

South African Ernie Els, needing a victory to qualify for the Masters, led by a stroke with two holes to play but missed the playoff by finishing with back-to-back bogeys, the first after finding the rough off the tee.