Tiger Woods won’t have his eyes on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), but he is facing the possibility of reaching a brutal career milestone.
As noted by the popular X account @VC606, Woods dropped out of the top 2,000 players in the OWGR as of October 5. In the last two weeks, his ranking has tumbled further to 2,084.
Whilst it’s the 15-time major champion’s lowest ever world ranking, there is another aspect of the drop that is more concerning. There’s a possibility that by the 2026 Masters – likely Woods’ next start – he will have run out of world ranking points completely.
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Woods, of course, spent 683 weeks at No. 1 over the course of 13 years, including 281 straight weeks from June 2005 to October 2010.
He was ranked as high as world No. 6 at the end of the 2019 season, but Woods’ ranking dropped during the 2020 season as he dealt with back issues before falling to No. 566 at the end of 2021.
After making only three starts during the 2023 season, the 82-time PGA Tour winner dropped to 1,274 – marking his first time outside of the top 1,000 since 2017.
Woods’ future on the golf course was placed under yet more doubt last week, when he announced he underwent surgery to replace a disk in his back.
“After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with doctors and surgeons to have tests taken,” the 49-year-old wrote on X.
“The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.”
Golf fans know they will at least see Woods on TV at the beginning of January. He also confirmed this week that he’ll attend every Jupiter Links match in the upcoming season of TGL.
“Looking forward to seeing everyone on January 13th for our home opener,” Woods wrote. “And @willlowerygolf, hands off my sticks!”
