Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy return to action this week at the US$6.5 million ($NZ8.01 million) Wells Fargo Championship, where a strong field begins the march toward the US Open in June.
McIlroy, the reigning US Open champion, will turn 23 on Friday (Saturday NZT) and another US PGA Tour title would be a terrific birthday present as well as a chance to reclaim the world No.1 ranking captured by Luke Donald with his victory in New Orleans on Sunday.
"It would be nice to assert my authority in that No.1 position and keep it for a while," said McIlroy, although he's not the only player chasing the top spot this week.
While Donald won't tee it up on the par-72 Quail Hollow course, England's Lee Westwood also has a shot at regaining the top ranking with a victory.
"It's not really a priority," said Westwood, who successfully defended his Indonesian Masters title on April 22.