Donald returns to No. 1 in world

England's Luke Donald rallied from a three-shot deficit Sunday at the Transitions tournament in Palm Harbor, Fla., with a 5-under-par 66 to finish at 13 under for four rounds; he then won a four-man playoff on the first extra hole with a birdie to wrestle the world's No. 1 golf ranking from Rory McIlroy.

Ernie Els was among eight players who were tied for the lead at some point in the final round, and he had a one-shot lead going into the closing stretch, but the Big Easy missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and then badly missed a 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole that caused him to miss the playoff by one shot. He likely has to win in the next two weeks to avoid missing the Masters for the first time since 1993.

Els barely restrained himself in a brief TV interview after the round. "I'm pretty hot now, and it's difficult to talk with a straight head here," Els said. "If I take stock, I think I'm playing good golf, and I've got to head into the next couple of weeks trying to get a win."

Donald, who beat Jim Furyk, Robert Garrigus and Bae Sang-Moon in sudden death, ended Rory McIlroy's two-week stay atop the world ranking.

"I think people . . . thought that my last year was maybe a little bit more of a -- not a fluke, but I don't think many people thought I could do that all over again this year," Donald said. "Hopefully, I can prove them wrong."

Donald will stay at No. 1 until he gets to Augusta National and tries to capture his first major championship.

McIlroy wasted no time sending his congratulations through Twitter. "Well I enjoyed it while it lasted! Congrats @LukeDonald! Impressive performance!" he tweeted.

Yani captures 14th title

Top-ranked Yani Tseng of Taiwan closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 18 under for a one-shot victory in the LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix. It was Tseng's 14th LPGA Tour title and second in four events this season.

Roberts holds on

Loren Roberts won the Toshiba Classic Champions Tour tournament at Newport Beach CC in California by two shots with a final-round 2-under 69 for an 8-under 205 total for three rounds.

Quesne wins first

Julien Quesne tied the Aloha Golf Course record with an 8-under 64 to finish at 17 under and win the Andalucian Open in Spain for his first European Tour victory. Quesne, 31, has been to the European Tour Q-school seven times. -- AP