Four-time major winner McIlroy has moved up six places to seventh in the rankings, after playing the last six holes in five-under par to claim the Arnold Palmer Invitational title.

It was the Northern Irishman’s first win since the 2016 PGA Tour Championship.

His fellow former world number one Woods moved to the brink of a return to the top 100 after posting successive top-five finishes for the first time in nearly five years.

The 14-time major champion was ranked outside the top 1,000 just last year, but despite falling out of contention on the final stretch on Sunday, moved up 44 spots to 105th.

The return to form of both McIlroy and Woods has come ahead of the start of the Masters on April 5.

McIlroy will be bidding to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta, while the 42-year-old Woods is hoping to win a first major since the 2008 US Open.

American Dustin Johnson maintains a healthy lead at the top of the rankings from his compatriot Justin Thomas, with Spanish rising star Jon Rahm in third.

World’s top 20

1. Dustin Johnson (USA)         10.31 average pts

2. Justin Thomas (USA)           9.37

3. Jon Rahm (ESP)                8.45

4. Jordan Spieth (USA)           8.10

5. Justin Rose (ENG)             7.59

6. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)        6.87

7. Rory McIlroy (NIR)            6.52 (+6)

8. Rickie Fowler (USA)           6.25 (-1)

9. Brooks Koepka (USA)           5.77 (-1)

10. Sergio Garcia (ESP)          5.70 (-1)

11. Jason Day (AUS)              5.56 (-1)

12. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)        5.49 (-1)

13. Paul Casey (ENG)             5.39 (-1)

14. Henrik Stenson (SWE)         5.11 (+1)

15. Marc Leishman (AUS)          4.93 (+1)

16. Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)         4.75 (-2)

17. Alex Noren (SWE)             4.69

18. Phil Mickelson (USA)         4.45

19. Pat Perez (USA)              4.29

20. Matt Kuchar (USA)            4.12

Selected:

105. Tiger Woods (USA)         1.41 (+44)

“Welcome to the world our little boy! We are so happy,” the footballer wrote on his Instagram account beneath a snap of the baby’s feet, which look tiny beside the couple’s hands.

The 30-year-old, who won the French Open in 2008, posted a snap of a bedroom with the walls painted blue and featuring blue teddy bears.

“Words can not describe the joy and the happiness we feel in our hearts,” she wrote beneath the photo.

The pair have been married since 2016 and announced the pregnancy in November.

The couple live in Chicago where 33-year-old Schweinsteiger, a former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder, is playing for Major League sooccer club Chicago Fire.

The Serbian assembled his squad for the first time on Monday, although four senior players competing overseas have yet to return home.

“This is the first tournament of the year for the national team,” said Rajevac. “I want all the players to be glad to be part of the team as this is a good opportunity for them to compete against world-class players.”

Thailand will take on a star-studded Gabon team featuring three Premier League players – Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Watford midfielder Ndong Didier Ibrahim and Southampton central midfielder Mario Lemina.

“As this tournament is very important, we must play our best to defend the title. Whether we can do it or not depends on us,” added Rajevac, who has replaced the injured Adisorn Promrak and Manuel Bihr with Mika Chunuonsee and Nitipong Selanon.

Under Rajevac’s supervision, Thailand beat Belarus 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out to win last year’s tournament and Thai football boss Somyot Poompanmoung says he is expecting nothing less than a third straight triumph.

They will certainly be the stronger for the return home of Kawin Thammasatchanan of OH Leuven, Chanathip Songkrasin of Consadole Sapporo,  Teerasil Dangda of  Sanfrecce Hirsoshima and Teeranthon Bunmathan of Vissel Kobe.

“Nowadays we have more Thais playing overseas,” added Rajevac. “The experience from playing international leagues should benefit us in the King’s Cup.”

The Thai team had their first training session yesterday evening at Kasetsart University near Chatuchak.

The 29-year-old handed Federer his first defeat of 2018 with a 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/2) victory on Sunday, extending his own win streak to 11 matches including a title run earlier this month at Acapulco.

Federer himself reclaimed top spot just a month ago and remains marginally ahead of his eternal Spanish rival Rafael Nadal, who missed the American tournament with a leg injury.

Del Potro, once one of tennis’ hottest young talents before his career was derailed by injuries, won the Indian Wells Masters on Sunday two years after almost quitting in frustration.

“I couldn’t imagine this moment. I mean, everybody knows I was really close to quitting tennis before my third surgery on my left wrist,” said Del Potro after upsetting world No. 1  Federer.

“I made a big effort to come back. I have everything what I want, and I want to keep improving my game to see what can I do.

“I had very bad moments a few years ago and I don’t want to think about that anymore. I am just enjoying my life and playing around the world. I am exited to see what is next.”

World number eight Del Potro is back in the top ten rankings this season for the first time since 2014. He dropped to No. 1,045 before beginning his comeback from the left wrist surgeries in 2016.

The 29-year-old from Argentina says he is not thinking about his ranking and just wants to keep up the pace as long as he can.

“Well, it’s so big. I cannot believe I won this tournament, beating Roger in a great final and level of tennis,” he said of his first win in an Indian Wells final and second straight ATP title in a row.

“I don’t care about the numbers. I just want to keep winning titles like this if I can.

“But the first thing is try to be healthy during the whole year and play where I like to play. Now I have to do a smart schedule on clay to feel 100 percent for the rest of the season.”

Del Potro will now head to south Florida with the other ATP players to compete in the Miami Masters.

He wants to stay silent on his celebration plans but did say he has is saving something special for when he gets to Miami.

“I cannot tell you,” he joked of his party plans. “It will be Miami, maybe tomorrow, but that’s enough.”

Del Potro also won the title earlier this month in Acapulco, where he beat three top eight players in a row to clinch his 21st singles crown.

Asked on Sunday if beating the world number one in Indian Wells and winning consecutive finals is a sign that he is back, Del Potro said, “I don’t know. Maybe I’m in better shape, because few years ago I never win a title like this.

“I’m surprising myself. I don’t like to compare this time with few years ago, but I’m just enjoying what I have to do every day.

“And it’s like a surprising life to me, and I’m so happy for that.”

 Los Angeles – South Korea’s Park In-bee stormed to victory in the LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday, firing a bogey-free five-under par 67 for a five-stroke triumph over Ariya Jutanugarn, Laura Davies and Marina Alex.

Park, a seven-time major champion, birdied four straight holes on the back nine and finished with a 19-under par total of 269.

England’s Laura Davies, 54, headed a group sharing second on 274, her bid to become the oldest winner of an LPGA title ending with a final-round 69 at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.

Davies was tied with Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who closed with a two-under 70, and American Marina Alex, who carded a 68.

“I love my day today, especially play with Laura. I mean, just like my dream come true. I love how she plays. She’s like my idol and I had so much fun. I’m not really concentrated on my score at all. I just had so much fun. It’s a pleasure to play with her.

Park captured her 19th LPGA Tour title, and her first since March 2017 at the HSBC Women’s Championship.

She teed it up this week for just the second time since a seven-month break, during which she contemplated retirement.

“It feels great, especially after the long break I didn’t know how I’d be able to compete,” Park said. “Being able to contend and win is a great feeling.”

Ariya Jutanugarn 

Park played the weekend without a bogey. She was in the lead after a 63 on Saturday, and opened with a birdie at the first.

She then parred her next 10 holes as Davies pulled to within one stroke.

But Park pulled away with birdies at 12, 13, 14 and 15 to take command.

She moved into a tie for 28th on the all-time LPGA wins list and now has a win in six of the last seven seasons. The year she didn’t win – 2016 – was the same year she won Olympic Gold in Rio de Janeiro.

Davies, who powered into contention with a 63 on Saturday, was seeking her first LPGA title since the 2001 Rochester Invitational.

In her 32nd LPGA campaign, Davies admitted she was feeling the nerves on the first tee as a long-awaited win beckoned.

“It’s about as nervous as I’ve ever felt,” she said. “I nearly shanked it.

“It was a bogey, but then I chipped in for eagle at the second and it calmed me down.”

Davies would add three more birdies before a bogey at 18 cost her sole possession of second place.

Nevertheless, she was more than pleased with her week.

“It would have been huge,” she said of a win. “Not having won for God knows how many years on the LPGA, it would have been huge.

“But I’m actually quite pleased. It’s a great finish for me. I was four-over after six (holes) on the first day, so just to get into this position is amazing.”

Davies’ tie for second was her best finish since the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand, where she also finished second.

“Maybe now people will ask me when I’m going to retire,” joked Davies. “I can just tell them I finished second last week.”

Desperate to win a trophy to rescue a frustrating campaign, United advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Tottenham won 3-0 at Swansea to book their second successive appearance in the last four.

Chelsea, beaten by Arsenal in the final last May, are eyeing a return to the title match after winning 2-1 at Leicester on Sunday.

Alvaro Morata ended a personal goal drought stretching back to December 26 as the Spain forward put Chelsea ahead with a clinical finish in the 42nd minute.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy poked home from close range in the 75th minute to send the quarter-final into extra time.

But Spain winger Pedro won it for Chelsea in the 105th minute when he punished Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s misjudged attempt to punch clear.

Pedro got to the ball before Schmeichel and met N’Golo Kante’s cross with a header that looped into the empty net.

The victory kept alive Chelsea’s last remaining hope of winning silverware at the end of a difficult season.

Chelsea had lost three of their past four matches to fall behind in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League as well as bowing out of the Champions League against Barcelona.

“I think Leicester played very well, but it was important for us to win,” Chelsea midfielder Kante said.

“It is the only title we can have this season and we have to fight to the end.”

– Ideal start –

Meanwhile, Southampton are back in the semi-finals for the first time in 15 years.

New Saints manager Mark Hughes enjoyed the ideal start to his reign as the Premier League strugglers won 2-0 at Wigan on Sunday.

Hughes was hired this week to replace the sacked Mauricio Pellegrino and the former Southampton striker had an immediate impact on his new team.

Hughes’ main goal is to help Southampton preserve their top-flight status and they dropped into the relegation zone on Saturday.

Nevertheless, a trip to Wembley in the semi-finals could provide a welcome tonic as Hughes tries to make his presence felt.

It was essential Southampton avoided following in the footsteps of Manchester City, West Ham and Bournemouth — top-flight sides who had all perished against third tier giant-killers Wigan in the FA Cup this season.

They achieved that aim thanks to second-half goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cedric Soares.

“It was an important day for the players today. I have been really impressed with the quality of the talent I have,” said Hughes, who was sacked by Stoke earlier this season.

“They have lost a bit of confidence recently but they are good players.

“We stood up to Wigan. It was a statement of intent and a start.

“We have work to do in the Premier League, but we will enjoy this moment.”

The semi-finals will take place over the weekend of April 21-22.

Alvaro Morata’s first goal since Boxing Day put the visitors on course to bounce back from their Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona in midweek.

However, Chelsea tired after the break and were punished when Vardy forced home his 17th goal of the season from close range after Willy Caballero had parried Vicente Iborra’s initial effort.

Seventh seeded Shi profited from Lin’s lacklustre play to win 21-19, 16-21, 21-9 in Birmingham.

The surprising absence of Lin’s famed attacking skills helped Shi to grow in confidence.

The 22-year-old was able to utilise his speed and hard-to-read overhead attacks without inhibition against one of the sport’s all-time greats.

“I was more patient and controlled my pace, which helped me get the match back,” said Shi, who admitted he was relieved to erase the memory of last year’s final loss to Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei.

Lin would have been the oldest player in 63 years to win the All-England men’s singles title had he prevailed.

But just when he had levelled the match with a burst of delicate drops and sliced smashes, he suddenly lost his rhythm.

“I am 35, so to play at this level is good,” said Lin, seemingly  forgetting that he is actually only 34.

Lin became the first player ever to play in 10 All-England men’s singles finals and made it the first all-Chinese men’s Open final for a decade.

“I feel good about myself and I want to congratulate my younger opponent.”

Both Chen Long, the Olympic champion who lost to Shi in the quarter-finals, and Lin have been nurturing the development of their compatriot.

Earlier, Tai Tzu Ying, the world number one from Taiwan became the first women’s singles player in more than a decade to successfully defend the title.

But she was not happy with her performance after a 22-20, 21-13 win over Akane Yamaguchi, the world number two from Japan, in which Tai had to save a game point in the first game.

“I made a lot of mistakes, and in the end I just had to run with her,” she said.

“I would like to come back again next year and play better.”

Tai ended Yamaguchi’s hopes of becoming the first Japanese player to win the All-England women’s singles title since Hiroe Yuki more than 40 years ago.

But two other Japanese players did make All-England history.

Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino became the first pair from their country ever to win the mixed doubles title.

It was an even bigger upset because they had been unseeded, while the fifth-seeded Chinese pair, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, whom they beat 15-21, 22-20, 21-16, had been favourites going into the final.

World number 44 Osaka rolled over Kasatkina, breaking her serve four times and winning the battle of the 20-year-old rising stars in just 70 minutes.

Osaka captured the title on her first match point by blasting a backhand into the open side of the court.

The Japanese dynamo improved to 13-4 on the season two days after her biggest previous win, dominating world number one Simona Halep in a straight-sets semi-final victory.

She was only the fourth unseeded player to reach the Indian Wells final, with the most recent before her being Kim Clijsters in 2005.

The loss ends a brilliant run in the California desert by Kasatkina, who was playing in her second final in a row after a runner-up finish in Dubai.

“She was much better today than me, so she really deserved to win,” Kasatkina said. “Of course, we were both nervous at the beginning, because the biggest finals so far.

“But during the match, she was able to manage her nerves and stuff, and I was still a little bit tight during the match. So it is what it is.”

Kasatkina was two points from defeat against Venus Williams in the semi-finals but rallied for the upset triumph.

Kasatkina, who wasn’t even born when Williams was competing at Indian Wells, said she really felt the nerves getting to her on the big stage in the final.

She called her coach to come down from the stands for advice at one point but couldn’t remember after the match what he told her.

“I mean, I already forgot what he told me. I was so nervous, that I really forgot,” she said.

Osaka blasted five aces, made three double faults and won 79 percent of her first-serve points.

Like Osaka, Kasatkina was playing in her first Indian Wells final. This was the first time both Indian Wells finalists were under age 21 since Serena Williams beat Clijsters in 2001.

The opening set was even until Osaka blasted two aces to take a 4-3 lead. She then broke Kasatkina to make it 5-3 and finished it off with another strong service game.

Osaka pounced on Kasatkina from the beginning of the second set, starting with an opening break of serve.

She also broke Kasatkina to go up 4-1 with another precision forehand winner down the line and never looked back.

Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, but is a dual citizen after living in America since the age of three.

Kasatkina is 1-3 record in WTA singles finals, winning in Charleston last year and finishing runner-up last year in Moscow and this year at Dubai.

The 35-year-old from Vladimir, north of Moscow, crossed the line in 2:37:35 hours to win the category for men aged 18-39, with Thomas Muli of Kenya coming in second with a time of 2:38.06.

“This is by far my biggest win as I had to compete with Kenyan runners,” said Demianov, who had won three shorter events (10K and half-marathon) in Chon Buri, Bangkok and Rayong earlier this year. “Kenyan runners are famous and tough to beat. This is also the first time I have won a full marathon.

“I was only confident that I was going to win during the last 100 metres. He [Muli] was running on the sand but I was running on the wet sand, which was easier.

“In Russia it’s very cold. So I prefer to compete in Thailand where the weather is nice and there are beaches. But today it was like 28 degree out there, which was quite tough for me.

“I know many people in Russia who want to run marathons and I write programs for them.”

Demianov, whose most recent other victory was in Rayong last week, will next week return to the Isaan town and aim for a hat-trick of triumphs in another half-marathon, but is not confident of repeating his success.

“I’m not sure if I can do it.  My legs are a little tired now,” he confessed.

Tarus Dorcasjebotip from Kenya clocked 3:19:16 hours to win the women’s race, followed by Aregay from Ethiopia in 3:23.28.