When Tiger Woods tees it up at the Memorial Tournament on Thursday, his No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings will be under attack as it has not been since 2005.
And it's not only Phil Mickelson who is gunning for him.
Two weeks ago at the BMW Championship, flagship event of the European Tour, the top three English players in the rankings were asked about the chances of taking over the top spot with a heated summer run.
All agreed it is possible because of a wounded Tiger.
"Tiger's performance and schedule and things like that are unpredictable, aren't they?" said Lee Westwood, No. 3 in the world behind Mickelson and Woods.
"Phil Mickelson is obviously a world-class player, but his performances are very much up-and-down, and the world rankings are all about consistency. So I suppose the No. 2 and No. 1 spots are more achievable than they have been in the last few years."
Ian Poulter, ranked No. 6 thanks to his victory in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, made headlines a few years ago when he told reporters that when he plays his best, he believes he is right up there with Woods.
To his credit, despite the ridicule heaped on him for those comments, the former club pro only has gotten better since.
"It's closer now than it ever was because of the points Tiger has dropped," said Poulter, who previously was known mostly for his colorful clothes.
"If they play great for a spell of three or four months, get a couple of wins and a couple of big finishes, I can see anybody in the top 10 getting to the points that Tiger is at now ... including myself."
Poulter and Westwood played together in the final round of the Masters, and either could have been the one to possibly take second behind Woods in the rankings had they not faltered as Mickelson claimed the green jacket.
Paul Casey, who climbed to No. 8 in the world on the strength of five top-10 finishes on both sides of the Atlantic before being slowed by a shoulder injury, is the third-ranked Englishman and doesn’t sound so sure he is close enough to take the No. 1 spot anytime soon.
But he agrees that others are.
"I would have to say based on performances we've seen from Tiger in the last couple of outings, yeah, I agree," said Casey, who lost to Poulter in the Accenture final. "You know, if Phil continues to put in performances like he put in at Augusta and Westy puts in performances like we have seen for the last six months, both guys are in with a shot.
"That's if Tiger continues to do what he did. Quite surprised about Quail Hollow and the Players Championship, and I don't know what's going on there or why. I would see it for (anybody in) the top five maybe. Maybe I'm too far back. But if I have a good run and play some good stuff, then maybe I should reassess that.
"That would mean getting ahead of Phil and Westy and those guys. I don't see them playing poor golf over the summer. But then again, I don't know the calculations. Hopefully I'm in a position where you're asking me that same question at St. Andrews, where you've got a possibility. That would be great."
With everything else he has on his mind these days, Woods probably has not been sitting at home worrying about the No. 1 ranking.
Of course, he never really did.
When Vijay Singh took the top spot from Woods late in 2004 and held it going into the 2005 season, Tiger was asked in an NBC interview how motivated he was to regain the position he had held since 1999.
"Not as motivated as people might think," Woods said. "It's not the No. 1 ranking that I want to grasp. I want to win, and winning takes care of No. 1."
At the Players Championship four weeks ago, Woods talked about the possibility of losing the No. 1 ranking: "I've had it happen before, and the whole idea to be No. 1 and to continue being No. 1, you have to win golf tournaments. And I haven't done that in a while."
After he fell behind David Duval in 1999 and Singh in 2004-2005, Woods came back with a vengeance each time, regaining the top spot and opening a
huge gap on whoever was No. 2.
There is no guarantee Woods can do that again, because of his mental and physical state following months of tabloid scandal.
Smelling blood in the water, the sharks are circling.
