Woods Falls to 18th in World Rankings

Many golf observers have noticed the excellent play of European golfers like Kaymer, Westwood, and McDowell in 2010 contrasted with the paucity of events (and outcomes) of Tiger Woods. In the Official World Golf Rankings, Woods recently lost the #1 spot he'd held for years, as Lee Westwood's play surpassed his. Woods still remains fairly high up in those rankings due to his play in 2009.

If, however, we look at just a single year of play for the world's top 20, a different picture emerges.

Woods drops to 18th, and players like Luke Donald and Dustin Johnson move up. The superior play of the Europeans does show in these rankings, with Euros taking the top 6 spots, while Furyk moves down, as does Mickelson.

Here's the SCWGO 1 year Golf Rankings:

Rank, Player, Total Points, Weighted Points

1 Lee Westwood 297.84 14.89

2 Martin Kaymer 305.81 12.23

3 Graeme McDowell 323.93 11.17

4 Luke Donald 264.08 9.78

5 Paul Casey 211.68 8.82

6 Rory McIlroy 236.92 8.77

7 Steve Stricker 169.47 8.47

8 Jim Furyk 198.6 8.28

9 Dustin Johnson 189.96 7.92

10 Ernie Els 242.58 7.83

11 Matt Kuchar 211.21 7.82

12 Phil Mickelson 183.74 7.66

13 Ian Poulter 184.67 7.39

14 Louis Oosthuizen 187.07 7.20

15 Francesco Molinari 203.29 7.01

16 Retief Goosen 193.41 6.91

17 Robert Karlsson 166.18 6.65

18 Tiger Woods 121.41 6.07

19 Tim Clark 169.11 6.04

20 Edoardo Molinari 165.1 5.90