Who's Number One?

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-03-20

Those of us old enough to remember fondly recall the great duels between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Nicklaus, Gary Player and Nicklaus and Palmer. Those were the things that laid the groundwork for those players to solidify their places among the greats in the game. While the greatness of a healthy Tiger Woods can not be questioned, the game of professional golf has been lacking the excitement of the kind of duels that took place between Palmer and Nicklaus at Oakmont, Watson and Nicklaus at Pebble Beach. Nobody has had the courage, the mental toughness or maybe even the physical ability to challenge Woods, who has held the No. 1 ranking in the world since taking it from Vijay Singh in June of 2005. He's held that spot for 539 weeks during his magnificent career.

Over the course of the next few weeks, however, that streak may come to an end. With Woods taking eight months off to rehab his surgically repaired left knee, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia have taken a big chunk out of Woods' sizeable lead.

When Mickelson won the World Golf Championship--CA Championship in Miami last week, he had erased all but .52 of the 11.328-point lead he had amassed after his victory in the 2008 U.S. Open over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines. Depending on how that duo plays next week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Mickelson could have a chance -- mathematically -- to overtake Woods in the rankings the next week in Houston while Woods rests the week before the Masters.

Mickelson has been able to make up ground so quickly because while Woods was being sliced, diced and rehabbed, the big lefty went on a run of pretty nifty golf. He's won three times since last June, including two victories in his last three starts.

And it's great to think that lefty's push has put him into a position (not to mention a mindset) to go head-to-head with Woods for a while. But ..... Two questions really begged to be answered:

1) How long will Mickelson be able to play at this level and
2) When will be healthy enough to perform like Woods?

"I'm playing some of my best golf," Mickelson was quoted as saying after winning in Miami. And he was quick to give the politically correct when asked if he was concerned about Woods returning to normal more quickly than expected. "I don't think anybody is concerned about that," he said. "He's the greatest player of all time, arguably, he or Jack (Nicklaus). And he'll get back to that level. I'm hoping it's in five weeks and not four."

The World Golf Rankings are to golf what the BCS is to college football. It’s a ranking system that makes no sense to the naked eye. If it were to be understood even a little, it would most likely be judged as far too complicated. A simple explanation: Points are weighted according to the status of the event and strength of the field. Throw in the quality of a player’s performance and, poof, the world rankings are created.

In a great bit of irony, Mickelson and Woods were in a near-identical situation in 2006. Woods had taken two months off to be with his dying father and made his return at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. His game wasn’t nearly good enough to handle the fierce layout and he missed the cut in a major for the first time in his professional career.

Mickelson came to the 18th tee with the Open in his grasp and a chance to win his third straight major. Who could forget Lefty’s block/slice off the tee that caromed off the roof of a corporate tent, starting him on the way to a double bogey. That was the last time Mickelson has contended in a major and the last time he pushed Woods.

Garcia is in the conversation as more of a secondary threat than Mickelson. Although he hasn’t won, Garcia has posted four top five finishes and, like Mickelson, has taken a big chunk out of that double-digit points lead. The petulant Spaniard trails Woods by less than two points.

Woods’ role in all of this? Start making some putts, keep getting more comfortable with a golf swing that now has a solid base thanks to reconstructive surgery.

Sounds like all the ingredients for a fun run over the next month or so.

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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

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