Luke Donald regained top spot in the world rankings with a third-placed finish in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The 34-year-old needed a top-seven finish at Avondale on Sunday to regain pole position from Rory McIlroy - and he got it, finishing third.
For Donald, a final round of 67 followed earlier efforts of 73, 65 and 66 to see him finish two shots off the pace.
Birdies on the third, ninth, 11th, 13th and 18th holes ensured the Englishman finished on his own at 17 under par.
It means the top spot in world golf has changed hands nine times in the last 18 months, with Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer also holding the position.
McIlroy begins his quest to regain top spot later this week, when he competes in the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.
The winner of the tournament in Louisiana was American Jason Dufner, who edged out Ernie Els on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off to land his first PGA title at the 164th attempt.
The pair could not be separated on 19 under after the final round.
Dufner is into the world's top 20 for the first time as a result of his victory.
Els actually climbs more places than Dufner - 63rd to 40th compared to the American's 30th to 20th - and that should guarantee him a start in the US Open in June.
South Africa's former world number one did not compete in The Masters after falling out of the top 50.
Meanwhile, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger is into the top 100 following his five-stroke victory at the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea.
Updated world rankings:
1 Luke Donald 9.55pts, 2 Rory McIlroy 9.33, 3 Lee Westwood 8.27, 4 Bubba Watson 6.40, 5 Hunter Mahan 5.70, 6 Steve Stricker 5.60, 7 Tiger Woods 5.35, 8 Martin Kaymer 5.35, 9 Justin Rose 5.19, 10 Phil Mickelson 5.18, 11 Louis Oosthuizen 5.00, 12 Charl Schwartzel 4.96, 13 Adam Scott 4.91, 14 Webb Simpson 4.91, 15 Matt Kuchar 4.73, 16 Jason Day 4.72, 17 Dustin Johnson 4.65, 18 Graeme McDowell 4.55, 19 Bill Haas 4.36, 20 Jason Dufner 4.23
Other leading Europeans:
21 Sergio Garcia, 24 Peter Hanson, 26 Ian Poulter, 33 Thomas Bjorn, 34 Carl Pettersson, 36 Simon Dyson, 37 Martin Laird, 38 Alvaro Quiros, 41 Anders Hansen, 42 Robert Karlsson, 43 Paul Lawrie, 46 Francesco Molinari, 47 Fredrik Jacobson, 48 Paul Casey, 53 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, 54 Nicolas Colsaerts, 56 Miguel Angel Jimenez, 60 Robert Rock, 62 Rafael Cabrera Bello, 64 Matteo Manassero, 70 Darren Clarke, 76 Alexander Noren, 77 Michael Hoey, 80 Joost Luiten, 86 Padraig Harrington, 87 Pablo Larrazabal, 88 Stephen Gallacher, 89 Richie Ramsay, 95 Bernd Wiesberger, 99 Brian Davis
