Five rankings changes in 17 months
At no time since it inception have the changes at the top of the official World Rankings list been quite as fast and frenetic.
At no time since it inception have the changes at the top of the official World Rankings list been quite as fast and as furious.
For, from the moment 17 months ago on October 24, 2010, when Tiger Woods, the lists long-standing top dog, was finally replaced at No 1, there have been four new winners and six changes during this frenetic spell with Westwood losing the crown to Germany’s Martin Kaymer and then winning it back again just two months later on April 24, 2011.
Westwood lost his coveted spot again just a month later to fellow Englishman, Luke Donald who would go on to become golf’s first No 1 money winner on both sides of the Atlantic in the same year and to be crowned the Player of the Year, both in the USA and in Europe.
With not too many fireworks but with a huge load of stoic consistency, Donald, to his credit. hung on to the World No 1 title for all of 40 weeks – and then, when it was taken away from him by golf’s ‘golden boy’ Rory McIlroy on March 4, he came charging straight in just two weeks later to grab it back by winning the PGA Tour’s Transitions Championship in Florida on Sunday.
The World Rankings’s 17 most frenetic months:
October 24, 2010: 1 Woods 8.31, 2 Westwood 8.25, 3 Kaymer 8.03
February 27, 2011: 1 Kaymer 8.35, 2 Westwood 8.16, 3 Donald 6.63
April 24, 2011:1 Westwood 7.65, 2 Kaymer 7.52, 3 Donald 7.38
May 29, 2011: 1 Donald 9.14, 2 Westwood 8.74, 3 Kaymer 7.40
March 4 2012: 1 McIlroy 9.30, 2 Donald 8.97, 3 Westwood 8.19
March 18 2012: 1 Donald 10.03, 2 McIlroy 9.85, 3 Westwood 8.16
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