So just finished waiting out the 18th at Doral before posting this. But Mickelson is now just inches behind Tiger in the world rankings. Tiger showed some great signs of his game returning to old form with some superb ballstriking (no one really expects his putting to stay at the level it was this week)

so they'll each play probably once or twice before the masters, they each have had a ton of success at augusta.

after the Masters, anyone think Phil will be #1?

Frankly..No.

I hope Phil will be #1

I'm certainly a PM fan...........but as he just said on television. Tiger's been off for the better part of a year and the rankings are out of whack.

If Phil were to gain the #1 spot a year from now it would be exciting..........picking it up in the next month is a hollow victory.

he was really classy answering the question after the round, pointing out how Tiger's been out and all...But it's really exciting for Phil fans, he may never get this close again. It's the only thing missing from his career really. You have to think he'll end up second to tiger in every significant stat of the Tiger era. Being able to say you've been #1 is huge

i have no idea what'll happen. But i'm really hoping he can pull it off, Just one more Masters win Phil!

Statistically he might, but even he said that Tiger has had an 8 month layoff so it's kind of irrelevant.

although Tiger's absence from the game should be acknowledged, discounting the rankings is somewhat misplaced IMHO. It's not like other pros took a night stick to Tiger's leg or in any other way caused his absence. Tiger, his body and his swing are the only things responsible for his absence so it's his issue and not Phil's or Sergio's or that of anyone else. you can say, "what if this, what if that" but that's all hypothetical. sure Tiger could have conceivably won every tournament over the last 8 months but the fact is he wasn't playing and didn't win. anybody else takes that extended absence from the game due to self-inflicted injury and you won't hear all the justifications and excuses for the gap being closed.

Phil finishing ahead of Tiger, and thereby taking over #1, is completely plausible given the current state of both of their games.

Now that's an answer!

agree 100%

Phil said it himself. He might get to #1 in the world but he knows that Tiger is truely numbero uno. "Hes been gone almost a year!"-Lefty

and after watching Tiger hit the ball this week.... WOW, when he fixes his putting, holy crap.
Maybe some strange pattern is going on here... Last year Tiger was super hot going into the Masters but only won one of two majors. Now this year hes cold but heating up.... dare I say Grand Slam?

Great Post. I think that if Phil does pass up Tiger it would be less significant then if he had passed him without the injury. With that said, if Phil does pass him, I'm looking forward to Tiger trying to take it back and Phil trying to hold on to it. Going to be alot of fun! Go Big Phil!!!!

I've said for years that Tigers legacy will not be determined by his ball striking but his putting. Some of you don't seem to understand that as your body ages, your eyes change, your nerves become different, and things that were routine in your twenties and thirties aren't routine anymore. It might happen to Tiger sooner.......or later in life, but it will happen.

Ask Watson..........once one of the premier putters in golf, like Tiger he jammed everything............and made a lot of them.
Ask Faldo, ask Seve............the list goes on and on.

It's not a matter of wanting it, or practicing, or willing the ball into the hole like many to seem to think............it's nerves and an aging body......it'll happen, its just when!

To be #1 is to be number one, not a fleeting moment when the true number one player is out for surgery and recovery. Phil knows this and would rather go head to head and beat Tiger for the spot and earn it.

Wheres that guy that said Phil wuld be outside the top 10 at the end of the year?

I said Phil would be fine but to win twice so soon, I didnt expect that. Tigers ballstriking looks to be great, hes always kind of been a little streaky with his putter, when he is on hes really on, he was off this week obviously and still top 10'd. I expect Tiger to outduel Phil once again and not let go of the #1 ranking.

Much to many fans and the golf media's chagrin golf did go on while Tiger was recovering from his injury. The world golf rankings are not paused and Tiger doesn't keep his points as if he kept playing. Tiger was out for 8 months and while some people seem to think it is blasphemous to let anyone else hold the title of #1 it is a possibility. Just looking at the two tournaments that Tiger has played, Phil has finished higher in those tournaments (Tiger a second round exit in the Match play, Phil a third round exit. Tiger T9, Phil winner). I know it seems somewhat unfair that Tiger may lose his #1 because he was injured, but that's life in professional sports.
The New England Patriots didn't get a free pass when they lost Tom Brady for the season in week 1 (though being from New England I wish they did). Tiger will have to prove that he still has the game he had pre-injury. If Phil takes over the number one spot he is #1 and Tiger will play better than Phil to get it back, period.

The ratings are irrelevant. Everybody knows who the best player in the world is, and it's Tiger. If mathematically Phil becomes number one that's fine and deserved, but he's is truly not the best player in the world. If Phil won a couple of majors this year- out dueling Tiger, then crowning Phil number one is deserved. We are long way from that scenario.

Phil's playing well - which is good for the game ... 2 big tourneys are on the horizon ...

Bay Hill and The Masters

A showdown is coming ... the 2 Giants will meet ... Gotta Luv It

If the ratings are irrelevant then there is nothing to debate is there? Tiger is the #1 golfer no matter what. We might as well freeze the rankings right now and never change them.

I am being a little facetious here but seriously, if a guy is mathematically ranked number 1 and has been outplaying a guy thus far this year (and yes I know Tiger is coming back from injury) how can you say that right now he is not the number one player. You make the argument that Phil needs to out duel Tiger to really be #1, I'll pose this...What if Tiger never fully gets it back? Does he automatically get to be number 1 for life because he was injured?

Tiger will be dialed in by the time they arrive in Augusta. The only thing hurting him right now is his putting. He has been the best putter in the world for years and a little knee surgery ain't gonna change that. Once he shakes off the rust and gets back to being Tiger on the greens he'll be tough to beat.

Nice.

You also gotta look at the fact that right now, Tiger is still the #1 ranked player in the world. Its not like Phil took over #1 while Tiger was still out from injury. The only way for Phil to get to #1 is to outplay Tiger right now, and so far he's done that in the two events that Tiger has been back. Granted they were the first two events he's played in 8 months, but by this point I think the "comeback" phase is over. I mean, its not like Tiger's ballstriking wasn't quite there yet at Doral, he was hitting the ball amazing. It was hit putter that was letting him down, and he probably had that in his hands 6 months ago.

What will be interesting though is if Phil takes over #1 soon and holds it through most of the season. It would be one thing if he took over for a few weeks and then Tiger snatched it right back, but if we get to the British Open in July and Phil has held on to #1 for 15-16 weeks, then things would be interesting.

Can't predict the future, but my opinion is that when Tiger was revamping his swing and VJ
became #1, he deserved it, and if Phil continues his pace and Tiger is slow in returning to
form, and Phil passes him, the he deserves it.
This is a great thread and I've read some fine observations, with the most compelling being
about Tiger getting the putter back to previous form. I just don't know if anyone can putt like he did
for the years before surgery ever again, including TW. That was just phenominal, 18 months or
so without missing from inside of 4 feet. Adam Scott misses those at least once a round. So does
Garcia and a few others. 4 to 6 shots a tourney is a lot to spot someone like TW.

Regardless of whose name occupies the slot beside #1 in the WGR, everyone knows who is really #1.

If Phil finishes in the top 5 and Tiger doesnt, then Phil will be Number 1. If Tiger finishes in the top 5 and Phil doesn't, then Tiger will be Number 1

"Current state of both their games?" Do you mean over the last 2-tournaments or over the last 8-months?

Phil's been on a run for a month...? WOW!

+1 Absolutely! I'm NOT a Phil or Tiger fan, but Phil's not stupid. It will always be said that he only gained it through Tigers absence to injury!

Well, Phil has committed to playing the Shell Houston Open, a tournament Tiger traditionally doesn't play. If Phil were to finish high in the standings, would that vault him over Tiger?

Phil's playing cool golf and loving every minute of it. I had him dropping out of the top ten this year so, although I feel pretty stupid, I hope he keeps going full steam ahead.
A happy, humorous and hard-swinging Phil pushing Tiger is great for the game. Can't wait for the next tourney.

I think you make a fair point. The only thing I'd say is that there is a slight anomaly in the world rankings system, being the minimum divisor of 40 events. Tiger currently has 22 events providing points. The minimum 40 is to prevent someone from winning their first event and immediately jumping to first place. Most of Tiger's events are dwindling rapidly right now, so he's losing points fairly quickly. Plus, he's getting hit by the minimum 40. I think if Phil gets past what Tiger's ranking would be without the minimum of 40 points, then he can claim, fairly, that he is now the best player in the world and I don't think anyone could argue it.

Currently Tiger's average without the 40 events is 16.61, while Phil's is 8.62. The rankings will put Phil at number one and if they do, I think he'll deserve to be there too. But I also think Tiger will be the best player until Phil can point to a higher ranking even with the minimum divisor gone.