Top 25 golf stories of 2013, No. 10: After 2.5 years, Tiger Woods is No. 1 in the world again

A whopping 877 days after he'd lost it, Tiger Woods regained the No. 1 spot in the world and made our countdown in the process. On Oct. 31, 2010 Lee Westwood overtook Tiger Woods for the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings. Some 877 days later, Woods finally regained the top spot in the world. Other than on paper, being No. 1 in the world doesn't mean a whole lot. It's a nice career accomplishment, but it won't win you tournaments...

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Zach Johnson wins Northwestern Mutual World Challenge

Zach Johnson saw off Tiger Woods in a play-off to complete a remarkable comeback and claim the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge title from under the nose of its host. Johnson found himself four shots back after 10 holes as Woods appeared to be cruising to victory in his tournament at the Sherwood Country Club. But he staged a stirring comeback on the way home as Woods stagnated, sinking four birdies and chipping in from the drop zone...

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Henrik Stenson rounds off stellar year with another trophy

Henrik Stenson has been awarded the 2013 Golf Writers Trophy following a season which saw him make history on both sides of the Atlantic. The Swede became the first player to win both the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup and the European Tour's Race to Dubai in the same season, an achievement which helped him rise to number three in the world. The 37-year-old beat off competition from US Open champion Justin Rose and the victorious European Solheim...

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Day draws strength from roller-coaster year

LOS ANGELES - Jason Day has been torn between golfing joy and personal grief over the past two months but he believes the experience has strengthened his resolve and character as he aims to build on a "good year" in 2014. Aged just 26, the Australian has established himself as one of the game's most exciting players and, with a rare ability to perform at his best when the pressure is at its most intense, has set his sights on landing a maiden...

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Mandela, a natural charmer with the measure of those he met

BRUSSELS - Thousands upon thousands of people, great and small, met Nelson Mandela, and as a correspondent in South Africa from 1997-2000, I was fortunate to be among them. During his presidency and in the early years of his retirement from office, Mandela made a point of meeting as many of the people who beat a path to his door as possible. He loved the gatherings which, while often stage-managed and to a certain extent set up for the media,...

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Tiger Woods Faced Another Potential On-Course Infraction at Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, but Viewers Didn’t See It

COMMENTARY | Tiger Woods is the most widely followed, scrutinized and videotaped golfer in the sport. So it was a bit odd to only hear about Woods' possible one-stroke penalty during NBC's live coverage of the third round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, a tournament he was leading at the time and eventually went on to lose in a playoff to Zach Johnson. On Saturday, during a commercial break, Woods' ball apparently moved from its spot on the 13th green while he was looking over a birdie putt. Instead of showing viewers what happened,...

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Golf in 2013: Sharing the wealth

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Wanting to return among the elite in golf, Graeme McDowell mapped out a plan last fall. He figured out how many ranking points he would need to get back into the top five in the world. And he went about it the right way. It started with his win at the World Challenge a year ago. He won at Hilton Head on the PGA Tour. He won the World Match Play Championship and the French Open on the European Tour. He was third at...

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Boo Weekley withdraws from Franklin Templeton Shootout after family bereavements

Boo Weekley has withdrawn from this week's Franklin Templeton Shootout after suffering two family bereavements.   The American, 40, has lost both his grandfather and an uncle in the past 10 days and has now informed tournament officials he will not be competing as a result.   "Our thoughts and prayers are with Boo during this difficult time," tournament director Taylor Ives stated. "We know he was very close with both of these gentlemen....

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Thomas Aiken says victory at Nelson Mandela Championship would be proudest moment

  Thomas Aiken has admitted that winning this week's Nelson Mandela Championship would eclipse anything else he has managed in golf. The European Tour event in South Africa will inevitably carry great poignancy given the events of the last few days. The start of the second staging of the tournament has been moved forward a day to Wednesday in order that the final round does not clash with the former South African president's state funeral...

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Thailand Golf Championship: Justin Rose admits US Open win still sinking in

Justin Rose admits that winning the US Open is still sinking in, as he closes his memorable 2013 with an appearance at the Thailand Golf Championship.   World No 4 Rose will make his debut at the Amata Spring Country Club as he looks for the perfect end to a perfect season which saw him lift his maiden major title. Rose became the first Englishman to win the US Open in 43 years with his brilliant two-shot win at a testing Merion course...

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Thailand Golf Championship: Henrik Stenson looking for one more win

Henrik Stenson is squeezing the last few drops of energy out of himself as he looks to end a memorable year on a high in his final start of 2013 at the Thailand Golf Championship. The 37-year-old made history as he captured both the FedEx Cup and Race To Dubai after a sparkling summer as he powered up to World No 3 in the golf rankings. The Swede also picked up the Golf Writers Trophy as a result of his efforts and his remarkable rise back...

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Zach Johnson's win at World Challenge lifts him into world's top 10 for first time

Zach Johnson's thrilling victory at the World Challenge has seen him crack the world's top 10 for the first time. Johnson produced a remarkable comeback at Sherwood Country Club on Sunday as he made up a four-stroke deficit on tournament host Tiger Woods before edging out the World No.1 in a play-off. It was a second victory in his last five starts with the 37-year-old having walked away with the BMW Championship title back in September's FedEx...

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Ernie Els mourns the death of his former psychologist Jos Vanstiphout

Ernie Els has paid a glowing tribute to renowned sports psychologist Jos Vanstiphout, who died on Friday aged 62. The Belgian worked with a number of high-profile golfers after proving his skills as a "mind coach" on the European Tour. Vanstiphout worked with Retief Goosen prior to his US Open victory in 2001, when he beat Mark Brooks in an 18-hole play-off having three-putted from 12 feet on the final green in regulation. But his most famous...

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Henrik Stenson wins Golf Writers Trophy after memorable 2013

  Henrik Stenson's achievements on both sides of the Atlantic in a memorable 2013 have earned him the prestigious Golf Writers Trophy. The Swede became the first player to win both the FexExCup and the Race to Dubai, while he also posted top-three finishes in The Open and PGA Championship. The world No 3 clinched the Race to Dubai title in style as he romped to a six-shot victory in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, and he...

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Zach Johnson wins play-off to deny Tiger Woods sixth title of 2013

Zach Johnson is congratulated by Tiger Woods after his victory at the first play-off hole at Sherwood Country Club. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images   The tournament host Tiger Woods was denied a sixth victory of the year when he lost the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge in a play-off with his fellow American Zach Johnson at Sherwood Country Club on Sunday.   Johnson, who had twice finished second to the world No1...

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World Challenge winners

Winners of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge since it was first held in 1999. Zach Johnson won this year's tournament in a playoff with fellow American Tiger Woods at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks,  California on Sunday (U.S. unless stated): 2013 Zach Johnson 2012 Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 2011 Tiger Woods 2010 McDowell 2009 Jim Furyk 2008 Vijay Singh (Fiji) 2007 Woods 2006 Woods 2005 Luke Donald (England) 2004 Woods 2003 Davis Love...

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European Tour Race to Dubai money list

Leading money winners on the 2013/2014 European Tour Race to Dubai on Tuesday: 1 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark)  795,338 euros 2 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)  454,492 3 Jamie Donaldson (Wales)  414,478 3 Sergio Garcia (Spain)  414,478 5 Morten Orum Madsen (Denmark)  241,662 6 Henrik Stenson (Sweden)  238,602 7 Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe)  221,449 8 Richard Finch (England)  192,972 9 Miguel Angel...

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World Rankings

Golf-World Rankings 1 (1) Tiger Woods (U.S.)  12.34 2 (2) Adam Scott (Australia)  10.00 3 (3) Henrik Stenson (Sweden)  9.01 4 (5) Justin Rose (Britain)  7.53 5 (4) Phil Mickelson (U.S.)  7.44 6 (6) Rory McIlroy (Britain)  6.82 7 (7) Matt Kuchar (U.S.)  6.47 8 (8) Steve Stricker (U.S.)  6.04 9 (16) Zach Johnson (U.S.)  5.71 10 (9) Brandt Snedeker...

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