"No one can say for sure just how far Tiger will fall in the rankings in the coming months due to the complexity of the system."
/Kevin Maguire takes an interesting look at the potential for Tiger's world ranking--for the first time out of the top ten--to take a free fall in the coming months now that his 2009 wins are about to start no longer counting.
To put this into perspective, over his first six events of 2009 -- which have already come off Woods' world ranking record -- Tiger's average finish was 7.6 through that year's Players Championship and included one victory at Bay Hill. During that span, he dropped from No. 2 in the world to No. 12.
Over the next four months, though, his world ranking points from 2009 will be nearly impossible to replace. From the 2009 Memorial in early June through the Tour Championship at the end of September, Woods claimed five victories in 10 events and nine top-10s overall for a staggering average finish of 2.8.
That stretch of golf might have been one of his best ever in a career that saw him win back-to-back majors on four separate occasions including the Tiger Slam of 2000-01.
No one can say for sure just how far Tiger will fall in the rankings in the coming months due to the complexity of the system. Outside the top 20? Top 30? A free fall is all within the realm of possibility now.