Westwood and Kaymer: the battle for the No. 1 spot
Ideally, Lee Westwood would have liked to have taken the world No. 1 spot in different circumstances, the Englishman all set to replace the struggling Tiger Woods as the officially recognised best golfer in the world this week.
That shift in status would have been achieved in somewhat unusual fashion, with neither man so much as swinging a club in professional play this week. But with Westwood finishing second in two of the year's majors, the 37-year-old is clearly good value for the No. 1 spot.
Trouble is, with Martin Kaymer on the rise, Westwood's window of opportunity may already have slammed shut.
Yep, Westy could find himself pipped at the post this week by a Ryder Cup teammate who has hit an outstanding run of form in the last few months. Kaymer's third win on the bounce at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship two weeks ago propelled the German ace to No. 4 in the world. It also meant that with a hasty tweak to Kaymer's schedule, the 25-year-old could join the field for this week's Andalucia Valderrama Masters - where Woods' No. 1 spot is there for the taking.
To clarify, world rankings points are calculated by judging a player's performance over the last two years of play. Woods' points total will decrease at the end of this week, leaving the player ranked lower than Westwood.
But Kaymer's flurry of fine finishes since his win at the PGA Championship means that he can overtake both Woods and Westwood, sending Woods tumbling to third place, if Kaymer can win or finish in second place at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters this week.
One thing is certain; we will have a new, European, No. 1 this week. Westwood is probably still the likeliest prospect; it seems unthinkable that Kaymer can win a fourth tour event on the bounce. The German has also showed weakness lately, losing the Grand Slam of Golf last week (though in truth that's a tournament that counts for very little), and appearing far from invincible at the Ryder Cup when losing to Dustin Johnson in the final singles round.
Then again, Kaymer has considerable motivation to do well here. And what a story it would make if the German could claim his fourth win in as many tour events to ascend to the very top of the pile. Kaymer clearly has the game, after all.
It's notable too, that Kaymer has done what Westwood couldn't in clinching a major victory at the PGA Championship this year. Westwood has been close twice this year, and was particularly unfortunate not to win the Masters in April when he came up against a formidable display from Phil Mickelson on the final day at Augusta. But the history books don't explain the extenuating circumstances; they just tell you the names of the winners.
Whoever takes the top spot this week, the stay may be fleeting. At next week's WGC-HSBC Champions, Westwood, Kaymer, Woods and Mickelson are all in the field; with a good performance, and the points difference between the quartet so slight, anyone of those four could take the No. 1 spot. The next few months look set to offer quite a tussle for the title of golf's greatest player, assuming that Mickelson can shake off his current malaise, and Woods can get his groove back.
For a week at least, though, the best player in the world will be a European. Can Kaymer pull off another miraculous victory this weekend? Honestly, we wouldn't bet against it.
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