Rory McIlroy was second best in North Carolina on Sunday night but still ended up on top of the world.

The US Open champion returned to the number one spot in the world rankings after his joint second place finish at Quail Hollow.

McIlroy was beaten in a four way play-off for the Wells Fargo championship by American Rickie Fowler.

But joint second was good enough to edge McIlroy ahead of Luke Donald once again in the world ratings.

“I can take some comfort from the world rankings,” said McIlroy after his first tournament outing since the Masters debacle.

“That’s nice. It’s a little consolation. I would rather win the tournament, but yeah, it’s good.

“I want to try and play well for the next few weeks and try and solidify my spot there at number one and hopefully start by doing that next week and giving myself another chance to win.”