NEW YORK: Tiger Woods has dropped outside the top 100 in the world golf rankings for the first time since 1996.
The 39-year-old former world number one and 14-times major champion, who has not played since pulling out of the Farmer’s Open in early February due to back problems, has slipped to 104th in the rankings.
The American first topped the list in 1997 and has spent 683 weeks as world number one, more than twice as long as any other player.
Woods’s last major title was the 2008 US Open but he won five PGA Tour events in 2013 and topped the rankings in May 2014 before suffering injury problems and a loss of form. He shot a round of 82 at the Phoenix Open in January, the worst of his professional career.
Woods hopes to return to play in next week’s US Masters, the first major of the year.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy continues to maintain a healthy lead at the top of the world rankings with the first Major of the season, the Masters, set to begin on April 9 at Augusta.
The Northern Irishman leads Sweden’s Henrik Stenson who is 3.19pts back in number two while Americans Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth are three and four with Australian Jason Day completing the top five.
McIlroy is attempting to win the green jacket for the first time and complete his set of winning all four Majors.
Meanwhile, United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will miss a practice round next week with European rival Darren Clarke in order to undergo toe surgery.
Love was set to meet with Clarke for the first time since both were appointed respective 2016 captains at this week’s Shell Houston Open.
Love, however, has advised officials in Houston he will be withdrawing from the event to have the operation.
“I was looking forward so much to catching-up with Darren in Houston as we’d organised to play a practice round together on Tuesday,” he told Reuters after posting a final day 74 for a seven-over-par total in the Texas Open.
“But one of my toes on my right foot is just giving me so much trouble it needs an operation.
“It’s been bothering me for some years and has been dislocated for some time so I’ve been told I need surgery to get it put back into the joint.
“The fact is the longer I have left it, the worse it’s got and I guess it’s just all worn out.
“So I’ll miss out on catching up with Darren but I’m sure he’ll understand, and besides there will be other chances where we can get together before the year’s out.”
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