Tiger Woods could reclaim the world number one golf ranking from Fiji’s Vijay Singh in Los Angeles this week by finishing in the top four at the PGA Nissan Open.
Woods spent a record 334 weeks atop the rankings, including 264 in a row, before being dethroned last September by Singh’s victory at Boston. Singh went on the win nine events last year and set a US PGA tour prize-money record.
Singh stands at 11,97 points in the rankings with Woods second at 11,85 and South African Ernie Els third at 10,79. Players earn points over a two-year span with special emphasis on the past three months.
Singh, who is idle this week, could reclaim the top spot from Woods if he is passed with a strong showing in his next event in what could become a season-long duel for PGA supremacy.
Woods has never won at Riviera Country Club, where he played his first pro event as a 16-year-old amateur and where he tees off in round one on Thursday.
While Woods might overtake Singh this week, Singh will be the top seed at next week’s World Golf Championships Match-Play event.
Woods is seeded second with Els expected to skip the event, allowing Masters champion Phil Mickelson of the United States to claim the third seed. Mickelson has won his past two events. — Sapa-AFP