Woods fights to keep his place in the sun

Tiger Woods can't start a new year without being reminded of the last one. And the last one wasn't very good.

Some of his peers couldn't help but chuckle when the pro-am tee times for the Farmers Insurance Open were posted in the locker room. For more than a decade, Woods had the first available tee time, a perk for being the best player on the PGA Tour. Those pro-am times are determined by the previous year's money list.

Woods was No68 on the money list. He tees off at 11am, which is about the time he used to finish.

"I can't imagine he'll be too thrilled with that," pro golfer Pat Perez said.

And then there's the world ranking. Woods lost his No1 spot nearly three months ago to Lee Westwood. He dropped yet another spot to No3 this week when Martin Kaymer won the Abu Dhabi Championship by eight shots. The last time he was not in the top three was May 11 1997.

It's the first time Woods has been ranked behind someone younger . He has just turned 35 .

Woods has known this day was coming. Now, the youth brigade is coming in bunches.

So many talented, young players will not make Woods' task any easier. The bigger question is whether Woods is equipped for the fight.