Tiger Woods is probably not looking over his shoulder, but he has to hear the footsteps. They are coming fast and furious from Vijay Singh, who at age 41 is playing the best golf of his life and in the minds of many has passed Woods as the best player in the world.
The official distinction has yet to change hands, but it is closer than ever to happening.
Once an inconceivable notion, Woods' hold on the No. 1 ranking in the world is teetering like a ball on the edge of the cup. It could go either way, depending on what occurs over the next several weeks, starting with today's Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C.
Woods' lead over Singh in the Official World Ranking is down to 2.14 points, the smallest gap since the system was tweaked two years ago. At one point, Woods' lead over the second-ranked player was larger than the gap between No. 2 and No. 100.
"You are not going to lose any spots winning golf tournaments," Singh said after his victory Monday at the HP Classic of New Orleans. "But it's very hard to catch Tiger. When he comes out, he always performs very well. So I've got to keep winning five or six events a year just to get close to him."
Singh is giving it his best shot. He has seven PGA Tour victories since the start of the 2003 season, one more than Woods. In 39 starts during that span, he has 25 top-10 finishes.
What it will take to pass Woods is difficult to project. The ranking is derived from points awarded on nine different tours around the world, given on the basis of strength of the tour and its fields. Each player's ranking is determined by an overall point total, divided by the number of tournaments entered. Points are accumulated over a "rolling" two-year period and are doubled during the most recent 13-week period.
The rolling portion of the process is what makes things interesting. Two years ago, Woods won the U.S. Open, meaning he will soon be losing those points. If he doesn't win before next month's Open and Singh continues on his tear, Singh could pass Woods this summer.
Woods has not played since finishing 22nd at the Masters. He has failed to crack the top 10 in three straight tournaments. Meanwhile, Singh has won two in a row and three overall and leads the PGA Tour money list.
"If I strike the ball the way I want to, everything is going to take care of itself," Singh said. "That's my goal. That's how I think."
NO SHARK: The United States Golf Association received a record number of entries for the June 17-20 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, but missing from the 8,726 was Greg Norman. Norman would have had to make it through sectional qualifying. It was 20 years ago that Norman lost an 18-hole playoff to Fuzzy Zoeller at the U.S. Open played at Winged Foot.
Next week, local qualifying for the Open begins at 100 sites around the country. There will be a local qualifying at Innisbrook's Copperhead course on Wednesday, and at Hunter's Green on May 24.
BIG WIN: Ryuji Imada, who has made his home in Tampa since attending Saddlebrook Academy, captured his second Nationwide Tour victory at the BMW Classic on Sunday. The victory was worth $108,000, but more important is where it put Imada: third on the money list. The top 20 earn PGA Tour cards for 2005, and Imada has never made it to the big tour.
LOCALLY: The Tampa Bay Junior Golf Foundation recently announced seven scholarship recipients for 2004. The awards are based on high school golf team participation and work experience in the golf industry. Students attending public schools in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough are eligible.
The winners: Alexander Boyle (Zephyrhills); Christopher Dwyer (River Ridge); Samuel Kaufman (River Ridge); Kevin Magaditsch (East Bay); Mallory Rausch (Riverview), Meaghan Smith (Riverview) and Seth Wightman (Pasco).
The scholarships totaled $18,000, bringing the foundation's totals to 27 students and $72,000 over four years.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
