In the world of sports betting odds and even in golf odds action there are many new and strange developments every day but none quite so strange as this possible headline: Lee Westwood Is The #1 Golfer In The World.
That is not something that most sports fans would expect to see or read, let alone something that actually seems possible in the golf betting world. But come next week that is likely what people will be reading in newspapers and the Internet across the world.
Tiger Woods, the greatest golf player in the history of the sport has held claim to the #1 world ranking for all but a few weeks of his decade + career. In the early going as a young professional in his early twenties Woods rested the top spot in the golf odds rankings from David Duval and has held it ever since with the exception of a few weeks several years back when Vijay Singh temporarily held the top spot.
But with Woods going through a nightmare of a year on and off the golf course it seems as if he’ll lose the #1 ranking in the coming weeks to Westwood of all people. Neither player is expected to play again for a nearly a month and in the interim Westwood will inherit the top spot during Woods’ inactivity.
This is just more evidence that Woods has lost his edge and will never be the dominant player he once was, or so say his critics.
However, it’s very difficult to buy that argument. That Woods, in his athletic prime (34 years old) suddenly lost his ability to dominate on a golf course seems absurd. He’s in top physical condition and is still the most skilled player on the planet.
He’s overcome difficulties before and bounced back to regain the #1 ranking in the world and even if he does lose the top spot he’ll still be favored in the golf odds. This will be a long off season for Woods and one full of practice and refining of his swing but he should bounce back and be better than ever for the 2011 season.
And it’s just a matter of weeks or months before he reclaims the #1 ranking.