Luke Donald surrenders No. 1 to Rory McIlroy again

With his 39th-place finish at the RBC Heritage, Luke Donald lost his spot atop the world golf rankings, falling to second behind Rory McIlroy.

Donald could have stayed No. 1 with a finish of eighth or better at Harbour Town but he was never a factor, struggling to deal with the firm greens, ending a run of three straight years in which he finished third or better.

 Donald said he intends to direct his attention to sharpening his short game rather than dwelling on being No. 2 now.

 "Is it a concern? No," Donald said. "Obviously, I would have liked to have played a bit more consistently this year. I built up a nice lead last year through some good tournaments and winning a bunch and being consistent. This year hasn't been quite as consistent. As a result, there's a little bit of fluctuation in the world rankings now. So, nothing too worried about."

 Donald held the No. 1 spot for 40 weeks, lost it to McIlroy for two weeks then held it four more weeks after his victory in the Transitions Championship.

 "I didn't have it just for a few weeks," Donald said. "I had it for something like 40 or 45 weeks, so I've experienced it and enjoyed it and hopefully I can get it back again. It's never really been the focus. Obviously, there was a lot more focus the first time around, trying to get to No. 1. Now my focus is solely on trying to win tournaments and win majors."

 Donald will not play in the Wells Fargo Championship.