Rory McIlroy set to establish himself as clear Masters favourite after CJ joy

Rory McIlroy has returned to the top of the world rankings in the wake of his CJ Cup victory in South Carolina on Sunday.

McIlroy is starting his ninth spell as the top dog, having secured a one-shot win at Congaree Golf Club, successfully defending his CJ Cup crown. Scottie Scheffler, previously world number one, tied for 45th place at Congaree.

McIlroy, 7-1 ante-post favourite for the CJ Cup, is a stand-out 12-1 with Betfred for the Masters. He seems likely to settle as clear favourite for Augusta in the days to come.

This week the PGA Tour stages the low-key Bermuda Championship at Port Royal, where DP World Tour regular Adrian Meronk is among the runners. Lucas Herbert has elected not to defend his title.

The DP World Tour leaves Spain for Portugal. Yannik Paul, the controversial 25-1 winner of the Mallorca Open, is scheduled to go to post again. Paul, whose ball jammed against a wall on the 71st hole, claimed he would play a left-handed shot from there. That meant he got a free drop because his feet were standing on the cart path for a left-handed shot. He went on to win by one shot.

Paul will be joined by Robert MacIntyre, Thorbjorn Olesen, Victor Perez and Nicolai Hojgaard in the Portugal Masters.

The LIV Golf season comes to a conclusion this week with LIV Golf Miami. The tournament starts on Friday and is a team event for which $50m is up for grabs. There will be two days of matchplay for the 'quarter-finals' and 'semi-finals', then strokeplay for the 'championship round'.

The 4 Aces team of Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez are top seeds. The top four seeds receive quarter-final byes.

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