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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.
“Obviously it feels great. My focus this week was to try and
win. I wasn’t really thinking about the world rankings,” Donald
said.
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.
Garrigues, who finished with a 64, two hours before the
final group, narrowly missed a birdie putt from seven feet. Bae,
who closed with a 68, and Furyk (6), both missed longer,
downhill putts.
“I had a great day,” said Garrigues.
“If you would have told me I would have been in a playoff
this morning when I woke up, I would have pretty much told you
you were crazy.”
Continued…
