Lee Westwood of England displaced Tiger Woods to become the latest No.1 ranked player in international golf. Westwood took the top ranking on Sunday after PGA champion Martin Kaymer failed to finish among the top two at the Andalucia Masters in Spain. Westwood is the first European since Nick Faldo in 1994 to be No. 1, and the 13th player to be No. 1 since the ranking system began in 1986.
Woods had been No. 1 since the week before the 2005 U.S. Open, where he was runner-up. He won the British Open a month later and his ranking has rarely been threatened since. That changed this year, however, when Woods struggled through his worst season on and off the course. He took a five-month break from golf to cope with confessions of extramarital affairs, which ultimately led to divorce, and his game has not been the same.
Phil Mickelson had a mathematical chance to topple Woods in 12 tournaments and has slipped to No. 4. Kaymer could have moved to No. 1 this week at Valderrama, but instead finished out of the top 20. The torch instead was passed to Westwood, who has been recovering from a calf injury that has allowed him to complete just one tournament since his runner-up finish in the British Open at St. Andrews.
As much as this represents the end of Woods reign, it also complete an amazing turnaround for Westwood. The 37-year-old Englishman struggled through a slump so severe that he fell as low as No. 253 on May 25, 2003. He gradually began to work his way back toward the top, and Westwood has been surging the last couple of years.
He missed out on a playoff at the U.S. Open in 2008 and the British Open in 2009 by one shot. He won the Order of Merit on the European Tour last year for the second time in his career, and he had the 54-hole lead at the Masters until finishing second to Mickelson. Westwood also was runner-up at St. Andrews, by seven shots to Louis Oosthuizen. His only victory this year was the St. Jude Classic in a sudden-death playoff, but he has six finishes in the top five.