How Tiger Woods Jumped 563 Spots in the World Rankings in 2018

At Bay Hill the media insisted to Tiger that the ‘narrative’ has changed.  The story has changed from “how do you feel”  to “do you think you can win at Augusta”.  Pretty crazy right?   In just five events played out of eleven so far in 2018 Tiger has proved to almost everyone, including himself, that he’s on a mission.

In 2018, Tiger kicked off his season on a course he knows well; Torrey Pines.  He came in ranked 668th in the world with not very much expectations.   He could barely chip the ball onto the green in Bermuda just a month earlier.   Tiger finished T23 at Torrey and jumped 129 spots to 539th.  (Info from OWGR.com)

Tiger Woods plays his shot from the third tee during the third round…

Tiger Woods plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Tiger then went on to miss the cut at the Genesis Open dropping back to 544th before a solo 12th at the Honda that catapulted him to 389th.  On a tough, windy track with arguably the toughest closing stretch known as the Bear Trap, Tiger dropped 13 birdies and outdrove the average driving distance for the field that week.

Tiger Woods plays during a pro-am for the Honda Classic on February…

Tiger Woods plays during a pro-am for the Honda Classic on February 21, 2018 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Tiger took a week off after the Honda while the Top Ranked players in the World played the WGC in Mexico.  He quickly joined the field at the Valspar where he almost ended up winning the event.  He finished one back of winner Paul Casey and went the whole week with all four rounds under par.  With the T2, Tiger leaped to 149th in OWGR (240 spots from the previous week).

Tiger Woods looks over a putt on the 12th green during the final…

Tiger Woods looks over a putt on the 12th green during the final round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 11, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

It seemed like the T2 was just enough for everyone to believe.   And of course, Bay Hill was next up. A course with such Tiger-filled history having won it eight times including a 4-year consecutive stretch (2000-2003).   I witnessed first-hand Tiger navigating Bay Hill during his warm-ups on Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to tee off.  He looked dialed in. He looked laser focused and comfortable.  He looked ready.

Tiger Woods reacts to his birdie putt on the seventh hole during the…

Tiger Woods reacts to his birdie putt on the seventh hole during the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 15, 2018 in Orlando,… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Tiger was coasting on Sunday knocking birdie after birdie before an errant tee-shot on 16 went OB which led to the bogey that proved to be the ‘nail in the coffin’.   There’s no question that Rory had it no matter what Tiger did on 16 but the T5 didn’t go unnoticed.   As a result, Tiger jumped 44 spots to (currently) 105th in the world, a whopping 563 spots from where he was five events ago.

The OWGR isn’t the only list he’s been climbing.  Tiger is now in contention for the FedExCup, where he sits at a comfortable 35th.  To put this in to perspective, he didn’t even rank in 2017 in the FEC, finished 2016 at 178 and 2015 at 218.  This is currently the best FEC position he’s held in five years.

A Top 10 at Augusta would put him in the Top 50 in OGWR and could possibly get him into the Top 10 in the FEC.  We’ve got an exciting season of golf ahead of us, especially for Tiger fans.

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