Tiger Woods Reclaims World Number One Status With Victory in Florida

Tiger Woods has overtaken Rory McIlroy to once again be crowned the world number one after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida by two shots.

The 14-time Major winner was delayed on Sunday after thunderstorms forced the tournament to go into an extra day but Woods rarely looked like losing the lead as he carded a final round 70 to finish on 13 under and claim his third title of the season.

Justin Rose finished second while there was a four-wat tie for third place with Mark Wilson, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler and Gonzalo Fdez-Castano all finishing on eight under.

Fowler had threatened to halt Woods but a bogey on the 15<sup>th was followed by a triple bogey on the 16<sup>th and he fell back down the field to leave Rose as the only real contender.

The Brit had a nightmare start as he bogeyed two of the opening three holes but four birdies saw him move back to 11-under and he was left hoping Woods would run into trouble in the final few holes.

However, Woods showed that he was close to getting back to his very best as he comfortably closed out the final few holes to mark a remarkable comeback that will see him become the world number one for the first time since October 2010.

Woods hit a career low ranking of 58 in November 2011 but has since worked tirelessly to regain his form and has already won the Farmers Insurance Open and the World Golf Championships tournament at Doral.

The 37-year-old had looked a class above throughout the tournament and carded rounds of 68. 70, 66 and 70 to secure his 77<sup>th PGA tour victory.

With the Masters just a matter of weeks away it is an ominous sign for the rest of the field that Woods appears to be rediscovering his best game.

With McIlroy struggling so far this year, Woods is fast becoming the favourite to win his 15<sup>th Major at Augusta as he bids to eclipse the record of Jack Nicklaus who won 18 Major's in a storybook career.