WHEN the world rankings were updated yesterday morning, all eyes immediately rushed down to the man occupying the 104th slot.
All, that is, bar Marc Warren's. Tiger Woods slipping out of the world's top 100 for the first time in almost two decades was cause for fresh inquests into just what has gone wrong for the fallen idol.
But the numbers didn't make for pleasant viewing for Scotland's No.2 either. Yesterday's fresh additions and subtractions equalled a galling result for Warren as he rose to 51st place in the world which ensured he fell just one place shy of a place at the Masters next week.
Looking at things through the prism of the mind-cloudingly complex rankings system made the near miss sound all the more agonising. Warren's ranking points total was 0.0094 less than the man in 50th on the table, England's Luke Donald. Warren fought against the winds in San Antonio all weekend to grab enough points at the Texas Open to break the threshold but his 35th place finish on Sunday wasn't enough.
It means that there will be just three Scots strutting around Amen Corner next week with Sandy Lyle joined by Stephen Gallagher and Bradley Neil. Lyle's possession of a 27-year old green jacket ensured his presence while Neil's teenage dreams will come true courtesy of his Amateur Championship triumph last year.
Whether Woods will be there remains very much clouded in doubt. If he does so, however, he will have a triple-digit ranking alongside his name for the first time since 1996.
The 39-year-old has struggled to return to the form which saw him spend a record 683 weeks as world number one and is now ranked 104 in the official rankings. The 14-time major winner carded an 82 at the Phoenix Open in January, a round which he described as his worst as a professional.
Woods has not played since he withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on February 6 saying he will not return until he can "compete at the highest level".
Woods has said he is "hopeful" of a return at the Masters which starts next Thursday, but if he does forgo the tournament it will be the second successive occasion he has done so.
Woods was last outside the top 100 in September 1996 when he was ranked 225. The then 20-year-old won the Las Vegas Invitational, the first of his 79 PGA Tour victories.
Woods lost his number one ranking to Adam Scott in May last year after a 2013 which saw him suffer poor form and injuries.
The American picked up an elbow injury at the Players Championship before he finished 13 over par at the US Open and only returned from the injury for The Open. Woods was in contention all week at Muirfield and finished five shots behind winner Phil Mickelson.
Victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational two weeks later looked like it could be the catalyst to kick-start Woods' winning habit.
However Woods sustained a back injury during the 2014 Honda Classic and subsequently missed the Masters for the first time since 1994.
His up and down form continued as a brilliant first round of 69 at the Open was followed up by a 77 and a finish of 69th.
His struggles with form and fitness have continued since and his college friend and confidant Notah Begay feels Woods is at best 50-50 to accept the invitation to compete at Augusta.
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