Adam Scott to replace Woods as No.1

May 16, 2014: Australia’s Adam Scott will overtake ailing Tiger Woods as World No. 1 golfer in Official World Golf Rankings on Monday. He will surge as top ranked golfer, even though the Australian will not play this week at HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.

Scott will be 17th player and second Australian to take top spot in world ranking.

The 33-year-old Scott, who won his first major at last year’s Masters, will become the first Aussie to claim top spot in the rankings after Greg Norman ruled for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s.

Woods, who has been nursing his back surgery of pinched nerve will not be available for more than six weeks. Woods had to miss the Masters for the first time in his career and man not be abale to make it to next month’s US Open at Pinehurst.

Speculations over Scott replacing Woods has been on for quite some time, but he has missed four chances to overtake Woods based on his performance at tournaments in the past two months, most recently at last week’s Players Championship, where he needed a top-16 place to capture the top spot, but finished 38th.

Since, Woods and Scott both are not playing, both will lose points in the two-year ranking system, but Woods – who tops the rankings for the 683rd week in his career – will fall behind Scott when points are recalculated on Monday.

Scott becomes the fourth golfer to overtake a rival for the top spot in a week when he isn’t playing, joining England’s Lee Westwood and Nick Faldo and Welshman Ian Woosnam.