Woods to drop out of world top 10

• By Jason Sobel
• May 18, 2011 6:46 PM ET

Tiger Woods will drop out of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking next week for the first time since April 6, 1997 – one week before winning his first career major championship title.

Woods will drop to as low as 12th when the next edition of the ranking is released on Monday.

Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald each have a chance to surpass Lee Westwood for the No. 1 ranking. All three are competing in this week’s Volvo World Match Play Championship.

If Donald wins and Westwood is not in the final, Donald will move to No. 1 for the first time in his career. He will also go No. 1 if he is a finalist, Westwood is last in his group and Kaymer does not win.

Kaymer will regain the No. 1 ranking if he wins and Westwood is not a semifinalist.

On the PGA Tour, Vijay Singh likely needs a finish of fourth or better at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in order to move into the top-50 and automatically qualify for the U.S. Open. Currently 59th, Singh has not missed a major championship since the 1994 U.S. Open, a span of 67 consecutive appearances.

Sergio Garcia hasn’t missed a major since the 1999 Open Championship. He needs to win at Colonial in order to secure his place in next month’s field at Congressional.