Luke Donald reclaims number one spot after third-place finish in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Golf News
The see-saw game for the top place in the Official World Golf Rankings continues between Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy, as Donald reclaimed the top spot after finishing third in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Sunday, April 29, 2012.
Donald only needed a top-seven finish in the tournament to take the place that he lost during the RBC Heritage.
He started his round with an eighth position on the leaderboard. A bogey-free five-under par 67 in the final round at TPC Louisiana was enough for him to jump five places on the leaderboard.
The highlight of his performance includes the birdie on the final hole of the tournament that moved him from tie 3 to a sole third position.
Apart from his last-round performance, he was amazing in the second and third round too, especially after a sloppy start on Thursday.
Donald carded a one-over par 73 in the opening round of the tournament. Thereafter, he never looked back and started displaying the game that he used to do last year.
He managed to score an 18-under par score on the rest of the 54 holes while suffering only one bogey in all.
“The last 54 holes is very pleasing,” The world number one said. “You know, I got off to a slow start and that was the difference this week. It was a little too much to catch up.on today's round”.
“Very happy with how I played and last few rounds and good momentum going into The Players Championship, which is my next,” he added.
When he was asked about his world number one position, he replied, “It's a nice consolation, going back and forth a little bit,” he said. “Rory's turn next week at Quail Hollow. Chance to get it back”.
Meanwhile, Jason Dufner earned the first major victory of his career after defeating Ernie Els on the second extra hole in the playoffs.
Earlier, both the players were tied for the top position, following their 19-under par tournament scores.
However, Dufner held on to his nerves and outshined the player with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole.
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