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Graeme McDowell returned to the world's top 10 on the back of his play-off victory at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.

The Portush man got the better of fellow US Open champion Webb Simpson at the first extra hole to emerge triumphant at the Harbour Town Golf Links.

It was only McDowell's second PGA Tour success - after his 2010 major victory at Pebble Beach - and his first title since winning on the European Tour at Valderrama in October 2010.

The 33-year-old climbs ten places from 18th to eighth in the latest round of rankings, while Luke Donald's share of third place was enough to see him climb from sixth to fifth.

France's Raphael Jacquelin was another play-off winner over the weekend, although he needed a European Tour record-equalling nine holes to see off Germany's Maximilian Kieffer and claim the Spanish Open title in Valencia.

Jacquelin's success sees him back into the world's top 100, jumping from 146th to 93rd.

Latest leading positions in world rankings: 

1 Tiger Woods (12.05), 2 Rory McIlroy (10.90), 3 Adam Scott (8.01), 4 Justin Rose (6.80), 5 Luke Donald (6.64), 6 Brandt Snedeker (6.37), 7 Louis Oosthuizen (5.78), 8 Graeme McDowell (5.56), 9 Steve Stricker (5.53), 10 Matt Kuchar (5.33), 11 Phil Mickelson (5.15), 12 Lee Westwood (5.07) 13 Keegan Bradley (5.01), 14 Sergio Garcia (4.86) 15 Charl Schwartzel (4.859), 16 Bubba Watson (4.858), 17 Ian Poulter (4.85), 18 Webb Simpson (4.78), 19 Dustin Johnson (4.57) 20 Jason Dufner (4.53)

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Amateur Dunbar Turns Pro

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Alan Dunbar, the 2012 British Amateur champion who competed in the Masters earlier this month, has turned professional.

The Northern Irishman, who missed the cut at Augusta, won the amateur title at Royal Troon last year and signed with International Sports Management in July 2012.

"I have been very impressed with the help and advice ISM have given me and am convinced I am in the right hands now that I have decided to turn professional," said Dunbar, who is 23 next week.

"It is an honour to be part of a stable with several major champions and many multi-winners throughout the world.

"I would also like to thank the Golfing Union of Ireland for all of the support I have received from them during my amateur career. It has been greatly appreciated."

Dunbar will play his first tournaments as a pro in Spain and Italy at the Challenge de Madrid and Montecchia Golf Open, before making his European Tour debut at the Nordea Masters on May 30.

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McIlroy Extends Charity Bag Deal

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Rory McIlroy is to extend his successful ‘6 Bags Charity Project’ for selected tournaments throughout the 2013 season. 

The ‘6 Bags Project’ is the first in a planned series of fundraising initiatives for ‘The Rory Foundation’ (click here), a registered charity established by the World Number Two to help children from around the world. 

The first charity to benefit was the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, whose logo appeared on McIlroy’s bag during the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January.

McIlroy said: “We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the charity bag project, as it raises huge awareness for the chosen charities, as well as much-needed funds. It’s all about giving children the support that I enjoyed as a child, so myself and my team felt that it made sense to extend the initiative to benefit as many charities and children as possible.”

McIlroy’s next US PGA Tour event is the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, in North Carolina, where he will carry a branded bag on behalf of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading paediatric treatment and research facility in Memphis, Tennessee.

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