Tiger Woods, the second-best player in the world?
The whole notion is rather farfetched. After all, Woods has held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for an astonishing 253 consecutive weeks, seemingly transforming the honor into a birthright rather than some numbers-crunching exercise.
But going into the US Open, Tiger has Ernie Els right on his tail. The Big Easy moved up to No. 2 with a win at the Memorial, and Vijay Singh isn't far behind, either.
There's a plausible scenario that would bump Woods from his leading role, which dates to the 1999 PGA Championship. If Els can win at Shinnecock Hills -- he's already a two-time Open champion -- and Woods finishes lower than sixth, there will be a new name atop the standings.
"The No. 1 position will hopefully take care of itself," Els said. "I don't want to think about that. That's not my total motivation. My motivation is to win golf tournaments."
Singh, the only three-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, might be playing better than anyone. The Fijian can move to No. 1 by winning the Open, but only if Woods misses the cut. That isn't likely to happen, considering he's made it to the weekend in a record 124 straight events.
"I'm up to No. 2 now," Els said. "But we're all so close."
The dominant position Woods held while winning seven of 11 majors has certainly faded. No longer does most in the field assume they're playing for second when Woods is on hand. With every wayward tee shot and non-winning finish, the gap narrows.
"The way Vijay has played the last 2 1/2 years speaks for itself," Els said. "And I've played pretty well the last three years myself. Everything is right there, and it's kind of exciting."
Woods is going on two years since his last major win, the 2002 US Open, held down the road at Bethpage Black. But rankings or no rankings, he's still The Man.
Just listen to Phil Mickelson, who's feeling pretty good about his game after winning his first major at the Masters.
"I don't know if we've caught him, if the gap has narrowed or not, but I think we all expect him to come out and light it up like he usually does," Lefty said. "I think it's going to happen very, very soon. I just hope we can put it off as long as possible."
Woods is getting testy about the whole thing. Everywhere he goes, the state of his game comes under scrutiny. This week is no exception.
"Am I tired of it? Yeah," Woods said.
His swing has gotten more analysis than most issues in the presidential campaign. Commentators have urged Woods and former instructor Butch Harmon to make peace.
"We laugh on tour about how these guys think they know everything, but they don't," Woods said.
Since winning at Bethpage, Woods has gone seven major championships without a victory. He hasn't won a stroke play title since October, and he's blown two 36-hole leads this year.
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