With his second win in as many starts, Tiger Woods returned to number one in the Official World Ranking for the first time since October, 2010 by claiming the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational, edging Justin Rose by two.  Woods initially thrust himself into the picture on Friday when he pulled within one of then-leader Justin Rose through 15 holes, only to finish with three straight bogeys to tumble back into the crowd.  But a third-round 66 (keyed by an eagle at Bay Hill Lodge & Club's short par-5 16th) pushed him to a two-shot 54-hole lead - a lead he would essentially have to sleep on twice after Sunday rains wiped out play with the leaders having completed two holes.  But Woods added two quick birdies on Monday morning and was never seriously pressured thereafter.  Rickie Fowler pulled within two with a birdie at the 14th before burying himself with a triple-bogey eight at the 16th, leaving Justin Rose to claim solo second, three shots ahead of Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Mark Wilson and Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.  The victory, Woods' 77th on the PGA Tour, also tied Sam Snead's 48-year-old record by winning the event for the eighth time, a feat accomplished by Snead at the Greater Greensboro Open between 1935-1968.  Woods cited improved health as a key factor in his three early 2013 wins, sparking considerable talk of his game now being back near the level it occupied before injuries, scandal and swing problems derailed his career...............In an event shortened to 54 holes by multiple rain interruptions, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat claimed his first career European Tour victory by carding a final-round two-under-par 70 to win the Maybank Malaysian Open.  The 23-year-old Aphibarnrat had to work hard for his money on Sunday, beginning the round one stroke ahead of 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and ultimately being challenged by ex-Ryder Cupper Edoardo Molinari and three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington before emerging victorious. A birdie at the third and an eagle at the fifth extended his lead, but Aphibarnrat then gave the competition an opening by bogeying the seventh and 12th.  In the meantime, Molinari, who had struggled since returning from 2012 wrist surgery, closed with a 67 to post 204 and take the lead in the clubhouse, and Harrington went out in 31, launching himself into the fray.  Aphibarnrat pulled ahead of Molinari with a birdie at the 14th before a two-hour rain delay dragged play to a halt, but a birdie at the 16th as action resumed, combined with Harrington coming home in 39, ultimately sealed the victory.  Denmark’s Anders Hansen tied for Sunday’s low round (66) en route to claiming solo third while young Frenchman Victor Dubuisson tied for fourth with Schwartzel (who closed with a disappointing 71) three shots off the pace.  For Aphibarnrat, previously a winner of the Asian Tour’s 2011 SAIL Open, the victory earns him full-time status on the European Tour, as well as a jump to 85th in the OWR...............And the beat rolled on for Jaco Van Zyl, who needed a playoff but ultimately won for the third time in his last four South African starts, claiming the inuagural 30-player Investec Cup on the first hole of sudden death versus Hennie Otto.  For most of Sunday the main story was the veteran Otto, who began play six shots behind the front-running Van Zyl before carding a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to take the lead, requiring Van Zyl to birdie the par-5 18th just to tie.  Playing the 18th once more, Van Zyl dumped his second in the water but scrambled for par; Otto pulled his approach left and chipped poorly, his bogey handing Van Zyl both the title and an additional R2 million for winning the event's season-long bonus pool.    Justin Walters, who closed with 67, took solo third, two shots out of the playoff.  The event was limited to players qualified (via accumulated poibts since last October) and utilized three sites, with the final 36 holes played at the Lost City Golf Club.

PGA Tour - Arnold Palmer Invitational  -  Tiger Woods (275)
European Tour - Maybank Malaysian Open  -  Kiradech Aphibarnrat  (203) 
Asian Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Sunshine Tour - Investec Cup  -  Jaco Van Zyl  (267)
LatinoAmerica - TransAmerica Power Products CRV Open  -  Manuel Villegas  (276)
LPGA Tour - Kia Classic  -  Beatriz Recari  (279)
JLPGA Tour - T Point Ladies  -  Yuki Ichinose  (202)
Champions Tour - Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic  -  Michael Allen  (205)
Web.com Tour - Chitimacha Louisiana Open  -  Edward Loar  (267)
Symetra Tour - Florida's Natural Charity Classic  -  Melissa Eaton  (206)

It took 34-year-old Kevin Streelman 153 starts to claim victory on the PGA Tour, but the former Duke University Blue Devil and mini-tour regular made his perserverance pay off by closing with a flawless 67 over the Innisbrook Resort’s demanding Copperhead course to claim the Tampa Bay Championship.  On a day which saw Boo Weekley tee off three hours before the leaders, shoot a dazzling 63 and set the bar at eight-under-par, Streelman never blinked coming down the homestretch, recording a clutch birdie at the par-3 17th to clinch a two-shot margin over Weekley, with Cameron Tringale (who closed with 66) taking solo third, three shots adrift.  Also coming up big was 19-year-old Jordan Spieth, whose chip in at the 71st hole allowed him to tie for seventh, and thus narrowly earn enough to qualify for special temporary Tour membership, allowing him to take unlimited sponsor exemptions for the duration of 2013.  For Streelman, whose previous claim to fame was winning the $1 million Kodak Bonus competition in 2009, the run home included nary a bogey over the final 37 holes and culminates a long road that included logging over 400,000 miles of mini-tour driving before finally arriving on the PGA Tour in 2008.  The victory was also the 14th straight by an American on the PGA Tour, a streak dating to late 2012, and the longest such run since 1989.  World number three Luke Donald (who closed with 69) headed a group tying for fourth (four strokes off the pace) and was joined there by Justin Leonard, who held a share of the lead well into the final nine...............Buoyed by a superb third round 62, Thomas Aiken became the sixth South African to claim victory on the 2013 European Tour, cruising home to a three-shot triumph at the Avantha Masters, played at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort outside of New Delhi.  Aiken was chased home by homestanding star Gaganjeet Bhullar (who took second with a Sunday 64) and China’s Wen-Chong Liang, who carded a hole-in-one at the seventh en route to a closing 69, and solo third.  Bhullar actually opened with two birdies and an eagle over Sunday’s first five holes, and later logged three more birdies on the back before a 72nd hole bogey ended his chances.  For the 29-year-old Aiken, the victory represented a second title on the European Tour (following a 2011 Spanish Open triumph), where he has played fairly regularly after logging seven early career wins on his native Sunshine circuit.  Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat closed with 69 to take solo fourth while 22-year-old Korean Seuk-Hyun Baek carded a final-round 66 to finish fifth.  Also notable was the performance of Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil, who carded an 11-under-par 61 on Thursday (tying an E Tour record by taking a five-shot first round lead) before disappointing rounds of 74-72-70 saw him home tied for 23rd...............Forty-seven-year-old Prayad Marksaeng became only the third native to win the Thailand Open, stringing together rounds of 68, 67, 65 and 64 to edge Australian Scott Strange by two in the tournament’s first playing as a co-sanctioned event on the Japan and OneAsia Tours.  Amidst low scoring at the Thana City Golf & Sports Club in Bangkok, Marksaeng became the first home winner since Boonchu Ruangkit in 2004 and celebrated by jumping into a lake adjacent o the 18th green.  The win was Marksaeng’s fourth on the Japan Tour (to go with six official Asia Tour triumphs) and comes at a time in his career when his form otherwise might be expected to be on the wane.  Strange, who closed in 67, kept the heat on Marksaeng through 71 holes before a bogey t the last left him two shots back.  His fellow Aussie Nick Cullen (who closed with 65) took solo third while a group of six players headed by defending champion Chris Wood shared fourth...............Having won the Dimension Data Pro-Am a month ago to the day, South African Jaco Van Zyl triumphed for the second time on the 2013 Sunshine Tour, closing with a 69 over the Country Club Johannesburg’s Woodmead course to edge tour rookie Dylan Frittelli by one at the Telkom PGA Championship.  Also a winner here in 2009, the 34-year-old Van Zyl shared the third round lead with Chris Swanepoel and fell behind early, trailing by four at the turn.  But Van Zyl carded three birdies over the final seven holes before ultimately pulling ahead when Swanepoel swooned with four bogeys over the final five.  The victory was the 12th on his home circuit for Van Zyl, the 2000 South African Amateur champion, and returned him to the top 100 of the OWR, where he previously peaked at 76th in March of 2012.  Tou veteran Jean Hugo claimed solo fourth (on 271) with Ulrich Van Der Berg finishing alone in fifth, on stroke further back.

PGA Tour - Tampa Bay Championship  -  Kevin Streelman  (274)
European Tour - Avantha Masters  -  Thomas Aiken  (265)
Japan Tour - Thailand Open  -  Prayad Marksaeng  (264)
Asian Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Sunshine Tour - Telkom PGA Championship  -  Jaco Van Zyl  (268)
OneAsia Tour - See Japan Tour (Above)
LatinoAmerica - 55th Abierto Mexicano de Golf  -  Ted Purdy  (281)
LPGA Tour - RR Donnelly LPGA Founders Cup  -  Stacy Lewis  (265)
JLPGA Tour - PRGR Ladies Cup  -  Mi-Jeong Jeon  (207)
Champions Tour - Toshiba Classic  -  David Frost  (194)

In a performance reminiscent of his halcyon days, Tiger Woods opened with rounds of 66-65-67, then closed with a safe 71 to cruise to victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami, claiming his 17th career WGC title and his fourth victory at what is now called the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.  Racking up a career best 17 birdies over his first 36 holes, Woods was on the lead from the beginning, and stood four ahead of Graeme McDowell at the start of play on Sunday.  McDowell cut the deficit to three with a first-hole birdie but would never get any closer, and for much of the round was part of a logjam of players trailing Woods by five.  Birdies at the 13th and 17th drew McDowell close before a watery double-bogey at the 18th dropped him into a four-way tie for third with Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson – and cost him $172,500.  That left solo second place to be claimed by part-time player Steve Stricker, who might well have won had he not given Woods 45 minutes worth of help with his putting on Wednesday evening.  Scott, for his part, carded the week’s low round with a closing 64.  Also closing strong was world number one Rory McIlroy who, after continuing with the struggles that have plagued his early 2013 for the first 46 holes, recorded 10 birdies and an eagle thereafter, including a confidence-building Sunday 65, to tie for eighth.  For Woods, the victory was his second of 2013 and the 76th of his PGA Tour career, as well as being the 41s time in 43 opportunities that he has converted a 54-hole PGA Tour lead.  It also moves him closer to McIlroy in the Official World Ranking, placing him in position to reclaim the number one spot with a win in two weeks at Bay Hill – and event McIlroy will be skipping...............Three months removed from finishing 148th in 2012 PGA Tour earnings and thus holding only conditional status in 2013, Scott Brown used that status to play in – and win – the 2013 Puerto Rico Open, edging Argentina’s Fabian Gomez by one at the Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande.  Brown came to the 72nd hole trailing Gomez by one and anticipated needing an eagle to win.  Instead, he pitched his 30-yard approach to the par-5 18th to four feet and made the putt, then hoisted the trophy after Gomez bunkered his second shot, found a rear greenside bunker with his third and ultimately missed a 15-footer for par.  While Gomez failed in his attempt at becoming the first Argentine to win on the PGA Tour since Angel Cabrera at the 2009 Masters, Brown set a new tournament record with his 268 aggregate and, more importantly, earned a two-year PGA Tour exemption, canceling his plans to play a full Web.com schedule for the remainder of 2013.  Tying Gomez for second was 19-year-old former junior and collegiate star Jordan Spieth (in the field on a sponsor exemption), with both Spieth and former U.S. Amateur champion and current Challenge Tour player Peter Uihlein (T6) earnning spots in next week’s Tampa Bay Championship.  Also tying for 6th was Gomez’s countryman Andres Romero, who held the 36-hole lead with a pair of 65s before carding a disappointing 75 on Saturday................Twenty-five-year-old Indian star Anirban Lahiri dramatically defended his 2012 title at the SAIL SBI Open, holing a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd green to force a playoff with countryman Rashid Khan, then eliminating Khan with a four-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.  For Lahiri, the victory is his third on the Asian Tour and his seventh overall on home soil (the event was co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India) while the 22-year-old Khan, primarily a domestic player, missed out on a golden opportunity to secure Asian Tour playing privileges.  In a rare Saturday finish, Khan gamely closed with the day’s lowest round (a six-under-par 66) that included a clutch birdie at the last, but could then only stand idly by as Lahiri caught him with his final stroke.  Bangkadesh’s Siddikur, the 54-hole leader, struggled home in 73 to take third while homestanding Shiv Kapur, a recent winner on the European Challenge Tour, took solo fourth.

WGC - WGC-Cadillac Championship  -  Tiger Woods  (269)
PGA Tour - Puerto Rico Open  -  Scott Brown  (268)
Asian Tour - SAIL SBI Open  -  Anirban Lahiri  (273)
LET - Mission Hills World Championship  -  Suzann Pettersen  (270)
JLPGA Tour - Daikin Orchid Ladies  -  Rikako Morita  (203)
Web.com Tour -  Chile Classic  -  Kevin Kisner  (267)

Fresh off missing the cut at Riviera in his last start, Michael Thompson launched himself into contention with a second-round 65, then eventually played his way home with a windblown 69 to claim his first PGA Tour victory at the Honda Classic.  A quiet runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Open, Thompson eagled the 3rd hole on Sunday, helping him build a four-shot lead which would eventually be whittled to one when Geoff Ogilvy carded late birdies at the 16th and the 18th.  But with ever-present water at the PGA National Resort’s par-5 closer at least presenting the possibility of trouble, Thompson safely reached a greenside bunker in two and got up-and-down for birdie, clinching a two-stroke triumph.  Rookie Luke Guthrie, tied with Thompson for the 54-hole lead after a sparkling second-round 63, closed with a 73 to claim solo third.  At the lower end of the board, world #2 Tiger Woods failed to break 70 all week and was never a meaningful factor, finishing T37……………Woods’ week went considerably better than that of Rory Mcilroy, however, as the world #1 walked off the course after 26 holes (standing seven-over-par) claiming mental fatigue – though that was later amended by a statement citing a sore wisdom tooth as the cause of his untimely withdrawal.  To the extent that the dental version seemed a convenient plan B (as Mcilroy mentioned it neither to reporters who questioned him as he left, nor to playing partners Ernie Els and Mark Wilson), it must be noted that such walk offs are seriously frowned upon both by the Tour and within basic professional etiquette – which is a long way of saying that A) McIlroy’s generally very positive reputation cannot help but take a hit from this, and B) If he hadn’t planned on having a wisdom tooth removed, he’s surely planning on doing so now……………Never a major tour winner previously, 30-year-old South African Dawie Van Der Walt closed with a five-under-par 67 to break open a 54-hole logjam and capture the inaugural Tshwane Open by two shots over countryman Darren Fichardt.  The victory was a potential career changer for Van Der Walt, who’d previously only claimed wins on United States mini-tours but immediately gained fully exempt status on the European Tour with the triumph.  He began the final round tied with Fichardt, South African Charl Coetzee and Chile’s Mark Tullo, with the latter pair falling by the wayside with rounds of 72 and 77 respectively.  This left Fichardt (who carded a rock-steady 69) as the primary challenger with another South African, Louis De Jager, claiming third and former world #1 amateur, American Peter Uihlein, finishing fourth.  The event was the last of six 2013 tournaments co-sponsored by both the European ansd Sunshine Tours, though the first two (the Nelson Mandela and Alfred Dunhill Championships) were played in calendar year 2012……………At 20 years, 11 months and 15 days, Patrick Cantlay became the second-youngest winner in Web.com Tour history, closing with a five-under-par 66 to claim the Colombia Championship by four shots.  A former UCLA All-American and world #1 amateur, Cantlay’s weekend rounds of 65-66 were the lowest carded each day, allowing him first to catch, then to run away from 2nd-place finisher Jim Renner, who closed with a 70.  The victory was the highly touted Cantlay’s first as a professional.

PGA Tour - Honda Classic  -  Michael Thompson  (271)
European Tour - Tshwane Open  -  Davie Van Der Walt  (267)
Sunshine Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Australasian Tour - New Zealand PGA Championship  -  Michael Hendry  (269)
LPGA Tour - HSBC Women's Championsd  -  Stacy Lewis  (273)
Web.Com - Colombia Championship  -  Patrick Cantlay  (266)

After charging out to a four-hole lead through the opening nine of the finals, Matt Kuchar hung on for a 2&1 victory over defending champion Hunter Mahan to win the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Golf Club at Dove Mountain.  Playing in windy, very cold conditions, in an event which saw much of its opening day postponed by snow, Kuchar captured his fifth career PGA Tour title, and his first victory in a WGC event.  For his part, Mahan hadn’t trailed in his last 11 matches here (dating through the 2012 edition) and had already made short work of Matteo Manassero (5&4), Richard Sterne (4&3), Martin Kaymer (5&4) and match play ace Ian Poulter (4&3), struggling only in a quarter-final match with Webb Simpson, which he claimed 1 up.  But Mahan bogeyed holes 3-7 of the final, staking Kuchar to a lead he would never relinquish.  The champion’s march to the final had been relatively smooth as well, his victims including Hiroyuki Fujita (3&2), Sergio Garcia (2&1), Nicolas Colsaerts (4&3), Robert Garrigus (3&2) and Jason Day (4&3).  Day defeated Poulter 1 up in Sunday’s third-place match…………… Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol birdied the final two holes to close with 69, and thus claim his fourth career Asian Tour victory at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open in Yangon.  A wedge to three feet set up Plaphol’s final birdie, which proved the margin of victory over Mithun Perera, who carded five birdies over the final seven holes en route to a sparkling 65, but failed in his bid to become the circuit’s first Sri Lankan-born winner.  Third place went to Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (a playoff loser here a year ago) while Korea’s Hwang In-choon, Australia’s Darren Beck and Angelo Que of the Philippines tied for fourth……………Jaco Van Zyl celebrated his 34th birthday on Saturday, then closed with a steady two-under-par 70 over Fancourt’s Montagu course to claim his 11th career Sunshine tour victory in the R3.75-million Dimension Data Pro-Am.  Playing in the final group on Sunday for a third straight event, Van Zyl’s 17-under-par 272 total was enough to hold off England’s Daniel Brooks by two in a tournament which saw players rotate over three Fancourt courses for 54 holes, then finishing on the Montagu on Sunday.  Van Zyl began the final round tied with Hennie Otto but Otto buckled with a 73, leaving Van Zyl to hold off Brooks, who drew even after the 14th but couldn’t hold on.

WGC - WGC-Accenture Match Play Champ.  -  Matt Kuchar  (2&1 over H. Mahan)
Asian Tour - Zaykabar Myanmar Open  -  Chawalit Plaphol  (270)
Sunshine Tour - Dimension Data Pro-Am  -  Jaco Van Zyl  (272)
Australasian Tour - Victorian Open  -  Matthew Giles  (275)
LPGA Tour - Honda LPGA Thailand  -  Inbee Park  (276)
Web.com Tour - Panama Claro Championship  -  Kevin Foley (272)
Symetra Tour - Visitmesa.com Gateway Classic  -  Jaclyn Sweeney  (209)