Donald missed the cut at the 2012 U.S. Open, finishing +11 with rounds of 79 and 72. In his next major appearance, at the 2012 Open Championship, Donald equalled his best finish at the event of tied 5th. After rounds of 70-68-71, he produced a final round of 68 on a difficult day for scoring to advance up the leaderboard nine places to equal his best finish. On 12 August 2012, McIlroy won the 2012 PGA Championship. Donald finished in a tie for 32nd place at the tournament and again lost the world number one position to the Northern Irishman. In November, Donald won his third tournament of 2012, the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan. In doing so he overtook Tiger Woods and returned to second place in the world rankings.