LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – The official projections for the Official World Golf Ranking will come out later, but Golf Channel insiders crunched math and determined that four different men have a chance to become No. 1 by the end of the week at Royal Lytham.
Here are unofficial projections of what could happen:
Luke Donald (No. 1): If he misses the cut, his ranking will be 9.39, which is the benchmark for everyone else.
Rory McIlroy (No. 2): Will need at least 50 points to have a chance to pass Donald. Fifty points traditionally has been a T-2 finish at a major. With a win, second or second-place tie with one other player, Donald would need a solo second-place finish to retain No. 1.
Lee Westwood (No. 3): Can only become No. 1 with a victory this week. Donald would need a third place finish to hold the top spot.
Tiger Woods (No. 4): Can only become No. 1 with a victory. Donald would need to finish better than solo third to retain No. 1.