Before a golf ball has been hit at the BMW PGA Tour Championship there is already speculation that one of the top English players will make a move for the number 1 golf ranking. Tiger Woods the current number 1 will miss this tournament due to injury and also due to the distraction of his off course antics.
At a press conference leading up to the championships the three English players that are in the top 10 rankings, Les Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, all spoke of their ambition to move up to the top ranking. The current number 2 ranked player Phil Mickelson has had an up and down performance over the last few outings but his win in the Masters in April 2010 puts him in a position to also push for the number 1 ranking.
Tiger Woods has held the number 1 ranking for 258 weeks but his performance of late has been less than consistent with injury problems and family issues affecting his performance on the course. The three English men as well as Mickelson are all threatening Tiger Woods reign at the top.
Westwood explained at the pregame press conference that he felt the top rankings 1 and 2 were for the first time in many years an achievable goal. He explained that Tiger Woods game and performance are unpredictable at the moment and that Mickelson had showed some great form but rankings rely on your performance being consistent.
Westwood’s game has been very consistent with wins and placings in the top 10 for the last couple of outings. The current 6th placed player, Ian Poulter has also spoke of his desire to work his way further up the rankings but realizes that there are at least four people that are currently battling it out for the top spot. The next couple of tournaments, the US Open and the British Open have quite a few points up for grabs which would make things interesting at the top of the rankings if one of these players managed to string a few wins together.
Casey won the BMW PGA Championship last year by beating out Ross Fisher with two birdies on the last two holes. Casey is eager to defend his title from last year however he admits this may be a difficult task as the course has had some major works since last year that means it feels like a new course.