Tiger Woods has dropped to No. 56 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking – his worst position in 18 ½ years.
Woods was last ranked outside the top 55 in the world on Oct. 13, 1996, when he was ranked 61st after finishing third at the Texas Open. He won the following week at Disney to soar into the top 50. It was his second title in three weeks.
Woods will play this week’s Farmers Insurance Open and the Honda Classic at the end of the month. If he doesn’t move back inside the top 50, he will miss the World Golf Championship event at Doral. The only other WGC event Woods has missed in his career was the 2011 HSBC Champions.
Woods was ranked No. 1 in the world as recently as eight months ago, but he underwent back surgery last March and has played poorly in his six starts since. A new low came at last week’s Phoenix Open, where he shot rounds of 73-82 – the latter his worst score as a pro – and tied for last with club pro Michael Hopper.
Woods hasn’t been outside the OWGR top 50 in more than three years. The last time was Nov. 27, 2011, but he won the following week at his World Challenge event and returned to the top 25.
In other action, Brooks Koepka jumped into the top 20 (from No. 33 to No. 19) in the world after his taut victory at TPC Scottsdale. Rory McIlroy solidified his spot at the top of the rankings with his victory in Dubai, his seventh consecutive top-two finish on the European Tour.
Here is the top 10 in the world heading into this week’s action: No. 1 McIlroy, No. 2 Henrik Stenson, No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 4 Adam Scott, No. 5 Justin Rose, No. 6 Sergio Garcia, No. 7 Jim Furyk, No. 8 Jason Day, No. 9 Jordan Spieth and No. 10 Matt Kuchar.
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