<image="1" align="left" />Adam Scott will wake up today the No. 1 player in the world for the first time.
It is a little bit of history, for he joins Greg Norman among Australians who have held the top post on the official world golf rankings. Karrie Webb was the best female player in the world early in her career (and is still ranked in the top five) but there were no official world rankings for women back then.
Scott, 33, assumes the top position as Tiger Woods, the longtime incumbent, recovers from a back injury. Even without playing the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas at the weekend, the Queenslander rose above Woods, achieving a lifetime dream to go with his triumph at the Masters last year, his first major championshp win.
The rankings are updated on Monday afternoon (AEST). Curiously, the official website of the world rankings carried a photograph of Scott naming his as No. 1 this morning, but the list had not been updated, leaving Woods at No. 1. But there is no doubt the change will take place at some point today. While it is an anti-climactic way for him to assume the top position, he will take it.
Scott climbed to No. 1 on the back of magnificent performances in the majors since 2011, including last year's Masters triumph. The Australian has had seven top-10 finishes in the big four tournaments in that period, by far the best result of anyone in the world.
Ironically his play in the first part of 2014 has not matched his wonderful 2013, when he won twice in America, twice in Australia along with the teams portion of the World Cup with Jason Day at Royal Melbourne. He resumes playing in Texas at the Crowne Plaza International this weekend and is gearing up for the US Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina next month.