Tiger Woods falls out of world top 500

For the first time in his professional career, Tiger Woods has fallen out of the world top 500.

This week, the 14-time major champion occupies 508th place in the world rankings, his lowest position since before the 1996 Open Championship where, competing as an amateur, he finished T22 and rocketed up from No.554 to No.431.

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On August 28, 1996, Woods turned professional and signed multi-million pound deals with Nike and Titleist and, by the end of October, he was a two-time PGA Tour winner at the Las Vegas Invitational and Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, where he reached world No.35.

After his 1997 Masters win, Woods entered the world top ten for the first time and didn’t leave again until May 2011. After a lull in form, as well as injury problems, he returned to the top ten from March 2012 until July 2014. In total, the 40-year-old has spent 683 weeks at world No.1, more than double that of Greg Norman with 331 weeks.

At world No.508, Woods is just two spaces above Scot Duncan Stewart, who clinched his maiden Tour title at the Challenge de Madrid at the weekend, while Scott Jamieson is three spots behind Stewart at No.513.

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A total of ten Scots are now ranked higher than Tiger Woods. They are: Russell Knox (31), Marc Warren (116), Richie Ramsay (130), Martin Laird (195), Stephen Gallacher (228), David Drysdale (338), Paul Lawrie (349), Jamie McLeary (380), Andrew McArthur (403) and Craig Lee (441).

Woods hasn’t played competitively since the 2015 Wyndham Championship – where he finished T10 – due to ongoing back injuries. However, according to reports, it seems as though his return to action could be very soon, with the Memorial Tournament believed to be his event of choice.

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Tiger Woods :: Will he reach heights again?

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