Tiger Falls Out of Top 20

Tiger made headlines again on Monday as he fell from the top 20 rankings.  Woods is now #21 on the list, his lowest ranking since 1997.  Previously, Woods held the records for most consecutive weeks at #1 and for the greatest number of total weeks spent on the list.  (Woods is still #8 in the US rankings.)

The Official World Golf rankings work on a 2 year rolling average.  Tiger did well until Thanksgiving of 2009, so he has remained in the top 20.  It is almost the anniversary of his three back to back places (2 wins and a second place finish) at the Buick Classic, Bridgestone, and PGA Championship tournaments.  When these wins fall off Tiger’s rolling average, he’ll have only the 2009 BMW Championship and Australian Masters to average in.  Unless he can recover from his injuries and get back in the game,  his free fall will continue. 

Last week, Woods made headlines when he fired his long-time caddie and friend, Steve Williams, who had accompanied him in 13 of his 14 major championships.  Personal problems and injury have plagued Woods since late 2009, and in April, he injured his leg on the 17th hole at the Master’s.  He reinjured himself during The Player’s Championship, and blamed the short time he allowed himself for recovery. He has either dropped out of or missed the last three major tournaments.  Woods has set no specific timetable for his return,  and it appears that the drop in ranking will continue, at least for a while.

 Related articles

• Tiger drops out of top 20 (blogs.golf.com)
• Tiger Woods and caddie Steve Williams go separate ways (telegraph.co.uk)
• Sacked caddie Steve Williams vents fury at Tiger Woods (telegraph.co.uk)
• Tiger Woods May Return To PGA With Bridgestone Invitational Next Week (sbnation.com)
• Tiger Woods: Road to PGA Championship Expected to Begin at Firestone (bleacherreport.com)
• Tiger Woods severs ties with caddie Steve Williams (guardian.co.uk)
• Tiger Woods tumbles out of world’s top 20 for first time in 14 years (guardian.co.uk)
• Tiger Woods repays Steve Williams’ loyalty with a sacking (telegraph.co.uk)
• Tiger Woods: Firing Steve Williams Wrong PR Move, Right Golf Move (bleacherreport.com)
• Tiger Woods Dumps Long-Time Caddie Steve Williams (businessinsider.com)