Tiger Woods’ absence from the golf course has seen him tumble down the world rankings and he now sits outside the top 2,000 – a career low for the iconic figure
Tiger Woods has hit a new low with the 15-time Major winner now sitting in 2,048th in the world rankings as injury continues to deprive him of time on the golf course.
Last month he had surgery to replace a disk in his back and, now aged 49, there is doubt over whether Woods can ever return to the top of the game. He is eyeing a return to the sport next year but whilst he’s absent he’s continuing to slide down the rankings.
His current spot is understood to be the lowest of his career, which began in the 1990s. Woods won his first Major aged 21, a year after turning professional, when he claimed the Masters in 1997. It began an ascent to the top of the golfing world – where he would remain for more than a decade.
In total he has been top of the list for 683 weeks of his career. His longest single streak lasting 281 weeks, which came between June 2005 and October 2010.
The last time Woods sat top of the rankings was in May 2014. In more recent years though injuries have meant he’s barely played. In 2024, he appeared five times but missed the cut at the PGA Championship, US Open and The Open.
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He has not featured in a single PGA Tour event since missing the cut at The Open in July 2024, which has seen him fall down the rankings and by the time he potentially appears at the Masters he could be without a ranking given how the format works.
It was at Augusta that he enjoyed his most recent high. Without a Major win since 2008 the American would claim a fifth Green Jacket by winning the Masters in 2019. A final day surge saw him ended an 11-year wait for one of golf’s greatest honours and saw him add to his stunning CV.
Woods was once tipped as the man to overcome the incredible haul of 19 Majors that is held by Jack Nicklaus. He remains four off and is extremely unlikely to topple his compatriot. Back in 2008 when he won the US Open at Torrey Pines he was just 32 and had 14 Majors to his name before injury and issues in his personal life hit.
His former caddie Steve Williams has claimed that Woods could yet win another Major before he calls it a day.“There’s no question Tiger’s wired a bit differently than everybody else,” he told Bunkered.
“In my mind, he would believe that, if he could get his body fully cooperative and able to practice, he would believe that he could still win a major championship. I don’t think he would have given up on that dream quite yet. I mean, it’s possible to win a major in your fifties. Phil [Mickelson] has already proved that.”