Tiger Woods reclaims World No.1 ranking

Trust Tiger Woods to make it all the way back to world No 1 in the grand manner.

After the tornado on Sunday came the sport’s very own force of nature, as Woods ended Rory McIlroy’s eight-month reign at the summit with a two-stroke triumph over Justin Rose at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

They say there are no certainties in sport but did anyone really expect Tiger to falter with history on the line and Arnie’s tournament in the palm of his hand?

That makes it two wins from his last two starts and six victories in his last 20 outings.

This was Tiger’s eighth victory here to tie Sam Snead’s wins at the Greensboro Open for the most by one player at the same event. Palmer played with Snead and has witnessed Tiger’s triumphs at the course he built and owns.


Woods has held the number one ranking for a staggering 623 weeks but in the 29 months since he last abdicated his throne Britons Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, Germany's Martin Kaymer and, most recently, Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, have all occupied the top spot.

Woods's eighth victory at Bay Hill equals Sam Snead's mark for most wins at a single PGA Tour event. It also leaves him just five shy of matching the World Golf Hall of Fame member's record of 82 career PGA Tour victories.

In five starts this season, the 37-year-old American has collected three wins, the earliest he has won three titles in a season since 2008, marking him out as the clear favourite going into next month's Masters.


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