Golf:New world number one Luke Donald has given part of the credit for his stunning rise to his one-year-old daughter. Ireland's Shane Lowry was a big mover in the standings after his high finish at the BMW PGA Championship.
Having come so close in the past, Donald finally knocked Lee Westwood off top spot by defeating him in a play-off for the BMW PGA title at Wentworth.
And the 33-year-old has hailed the impact baby Elle has had on his life.
"She really is an inspiration to me," said Donald, who is due to become a dad again in November. "Just watching her grow and every day learning new skills, adapting, becoming better and better - that's all I'm trying to do at golf too.
"Every day just try and figure a way to improve. She does that. My daughter is the best - she sleeps 12 hours every night and it's nice to come home even when you finish second or don't quite close out a tournament.
"When you've got her little face smiling back you're able to forget things pretty quickly."
Donald has now finished in the top-10 in his past nine tournaments - earning him more than €3.5million in prize money.
However despite picking up nearly €4,950 for every hole he has played in that phenomenal run, Donald insists his target has always been to become world number one.
Donald, who becomes only the third Englishman after Nick Faldo and Westwood to top the rankings, said: "Money is not really that important. I've always said winning is top of the list.
"To come through in these circumstances in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, going head-to-head with Lee, is pretty special.
"Number one feels fantastic - a great honour, a great achievement. It's something that will be a great story when I'm an old man telling my grandkids that I was once the best player in the world at golf.
"But just because I've reached the pinnacle doesn't mean my work is done. I have a lot more to accomplish."
Graeme McDowell remains the highest ranked Irish player at fifth – despite missing the cut at Wentworth – while Rory McIlroy is next at sixth. Pádraig Harrington continues to slide with the three-time major winner now down at 50th.
Darren Clarke is 87th with Peter Lawrie and Gareth Maybin 131st and 132nd respectively. Damien McGrane is 155th, while Lowry jumped 59 places to 164th after his tied fourth finish at Wentworth. Michael Hoey is 215th.
Latest golf world rankings:
1 Luke Donald 9.14pts, 2 Lee Westwood 8.74, 3 Martin Kaymer 7.40, 4 Phil Mickelson 6.18,
5 Graeme McDowell 5.62, 6 Rory McIlroy 5.41
, 7 Matt Kuchar 5.15, 8 Steve Stricker 5.15, 9 Paul Casey 5.12, 10 Charl Schwartzel 5.10, 11 Bubba Watson 4.98, 12 Ian Poulter 4.87, 13 Tiger Woods 4.86, 14 Dustin Johnson 4.86, 15 Nick Watney 4.74, 16 KJ Choi 4.45, 17 Jim Furyk 4.39, 18 Hunter Mahan 4.19, 19 Jason Day 4.14, 20 Francesco Molinari 4.10
Other leading Europeans:
23 Robert Karlsson, 24 Alvaro Quiros, 25 Martin Laird, 26 Miguel Angel Jimenez, 29 Justin Rose, 30 Matteo Manassero, 33 Edoardo Molinari, 38 Anders Hansen, 49 Peter Hanson,
50 Pádraig Harrington
, 52 Ross Fisher, 67 Thomas Bjorn, 70 Simon Dyson, 74 Sergio Garcia, 76 Raphael Jacquelin, 77 David Horsey, 79 Stephen Gallacher, 83 Nicolas Colsaerts, 87 Darren Clarke, 90 Rhys Davies, 95 Gregory Bourdy, 97 Brian Davis
