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March 18 (Reuters) – Englishman Luke Donald regained the
number one ranking from Rory McIlroy when he won the Transitions
Championship at Palm Harbor, Florida on Sunday.
Donald clinched the tournament after he won a sudden-death
playoff with South Korean Bae Sang-moon and the American pair of
Robert Garrigus and Jim Furyk.
The four finished the event locked at 13-under-par, just one
stroke clear of another group of four players, on a heavily
congested leaderboard.
Donald, who had closed with a bogey-free round of five-under
66, won on the first playoff hole when he drained a birdie putt
from less than seven feet after a brilliant approach shot from
around 157 yards out of the rough.
The win provided the 34-year-old with his fifth victory on
the PGA Tour and elevated him back to the top of the world
rankings.
Donald had been number one until he was passed by McIlroy
two weeks ago.
South African Ernie Els led the event for most of the final
day before making bogey on each of the last two holes to miss
out on the playoff by a shot.
(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Mark
Meadows; Please double-click on the newslink:; for
more golf stories)
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