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On top of the world: Rory McIlroy has returned to the summit of the Official World Golf Rankings

Northern Irishman returns to top of the rankings – without hitting a shot

Rory McIlroy has returned to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings – without hitting a shot.

The Northern Irishman climbed back to the top spot after the previous incumbent, Luke Donald, failed to record the top eight finish he required to keep a hold of the ranking at the RBC Heritage tournament.

Donald, who ended McIlroy’s two-week reign at No.1 when he won the Transitions Championship in mid-March, finished tied for 47th at Harbour Town Golf Links after an uneven performance.

That enabled McIlroy – whose victory in the Honda Classic at the beginning of March called time on Donald’s initial 40-week spell as the world’s leading golfer – to climb back to the top of the rankings, despite the fact he has spent the past week in Copenhagen visiting his Danish tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

McIlroy, 22, tweeted his delight at reclaiming top spot. “#1 again without touching a golf club this week…. I wish it was that easy!” wrote the reigning US Open champion.

Donald, meanwhile, was philosophical after surrendering the ranking for the second time in little over a month.

“Is it a concern? No,” said the Englishman. “Obviously, I’d have liked to have played a bit more consistently this year. I built it up nicely last year through tournaments and winning a bunch. As a result, there’s a little bit of fluctuation in the world rankings now.”

He added: ” was a lot more the focus the first time around. Now my focus is on winning tournaments.”

Donald will be back in action at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a fortnight’s time, whilst McIlroy isn’t expected to play again before the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow – where he won two years ago – in three weeks.

Carl Pettersson ran out the winner of the RBC Heritage. The Swede fended off his closest challenger, former Masters champion Zach Johnson, by five shots to win his fifth PGA Tour title.

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Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered

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