A New No. 1: Will Tiger Woods Ever Reclaim The Top Spot?

This week’s batch of Official World Golf Rankings that were released on Monday finally featured what we had suspected would come for most of 2010: That somebody would finally dethrone Tiger Woods at the top of the list, the first time Woods would not be No. 1 since June, 2005.

Tiger had appeared at the top of the list since 1998 with short reigns of Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, David Duval and Ernie Els in between. However, it wasn’t until the closing moments of last year that the golfing world has begun to think of a new No. 1.

Phil Mickelson had a few chances to overtake Woods during the 2010 season, but failed to take advantage of every opportunity. Being a virtual no-show at the top of leader boards since the Masters has cost Mickelson his chance at the top spot, but his presence still looms large on the list going into 2011.

The new No. 1 is Englishman Lee Westwood, who was runner-up twice this year in Majors (Masters and the Open Championship) and has a victory on US soil at the St. Jude Classic.

Westwood was the 54-hole leader at the Masters only to be overtaken by a surging Mickelson on Sunday and finished a distant second to a dominating Louis Oosthuizen at St. Andrews.

Westwood battled a calf injury at the end of the season, which kept him out of the PGA Championship and forced his withdrawal at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational event. It would be safe to say if Westwood appeared in those two events, we would have seen a new No. 1 a few weeks earlier.

Westwood’s two runner-up finishes haven’t really shown he will be a final day train wreck—a characteristic that Mickelson portrayed for some time. However, if Westwood is to keep the No. 1 spot for any amount of time starting in 2011, he will need to have a strong showing early on in the European Tour’s lucrative Middle-East swing and the Masters. If Westwood goes unnoticed through those tournaments, PGA Champion Martin Kaymer and Mickelson await to grab the top spot.

Keep in mind we cannot forget about the new second-best golfer in the world. Tiger’s past 365 days have seen him go through many ups and downs, starting with the ultimate down on Thanksgiving last year. Many questions arose about Tiger’s game after that incident and if he would even play golf at all in 2010.

Tiger appeared for the first time in 2010 at the Masters and played a remarkable tournament, finishing tied for fourth. His game would sink after that, including a few missed cuts, but a good performance in the Ryder Cup possibly signals golf could be in for a new Tiger in 2011.

If Westwood is able to start strong in 2011 on the European Tour and establish himself in Major tournaments, he could be atop the OWGRs for quite some time. However, he is currently being stalked by a number of worthy adversaries who, with a formidable hot streak, can catch Westwood in a matter of a few tournaments.

There are several things to watch out for on the 2011 PGA Tour, and who is at the very top of this list could provide the most compelling storylines throughout the year.