PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- As much time as Adam Scott spends away from the PGA Tour, this might have been a good week to take off. By the mathematical wonder of the world ranking, Scott could have stayed in The Bahamas this week and still moved to No. 1 in the world ranking provided three other players had an ordinary week at The Players Championship. "See you later," Scott said with a laugh when told of the scenario. Scott would love to get to No. 1 for the first time in his career, though hes more interested in winning big tournaments. Besides, he had a chance at Bay Hill and the Masters to replace Tiger Woods atop the ranking and squandered both chances. What adds to the interest on the TPC Sawgrass is Scott has company. Henrik Stenson, Masters champion Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar each have a mathematical chance to reach No. 1 for the first time. "I dont think I knew that," Kuchar said. "That title is a pretty impressive title. To be No. 1 in the world at anything is amazing. To have a chance to be No. 1 in the world in the game of golf, I think all of us that play have those dreams." Its been made possible in part by Woods being on the sidelines. The Players Championship, which starts Thursday, is the second title he is unable to defend this year because of a balky back. Woods had surgery on March 31 and still doesnt know when he might return. Woods effectively has owned the No. 1 ranking for the better part of 15 years, his most recent reign dating to his victory last year in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Other players have reached No. 1 with a caveat. Woods was going through a swing change in 2004 (though Vijay Singh helped his cause by winning nine times and a major), and he was going through another swing change and a divorce when he lost the No. 1 ranking from October 2010 to March 2013. And now hes not even playing. But the landscape is changing in golf. Woods has gone six years without a major and is hampered by injuries to his legs, arm and back in recent years. Stenson a year ago became the first player to win the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same season. Scott won the Masters and became a force in the majors. "This guy has had as much of a No. 1 period as anyone," Geoff Ogilvy said as he walked onto the short-game area to see Scott stick 24 tees into the ground around the cup for a putting drill. "He contends every time he tees it up. He only plays the big tournaments. After two rounds, it feels like he has a chance in every tournament." That sounds a little like Woods, minus the outrageous number of victories. Even so, Ogilvy remembers the time when someone else got to No. 1 -- whether it was Singh in 2004 or Lee Westwood in 2010 -- and the murmurs were that Woods was busy changing his swing. Now? "He seems to be playing better every week than Tiger," Ogilvy said about Scott. "Tiger won five times last year, but you go to the majors, Scotty seems to be in contention with a chance to win more often than Tiger. If Tiger is your benchmark, he (Scott) has been a better player. Right now, whoever gets to No. 1 probably is. If Henrik wins a major and gets to No. 1, there cant be an argument." Woods still has the nod over two years, the duration of how the ranking measures performances. In the 26 tournaments that Woods and Scott have played, Woods has won five times (Scott has won twice) and has a 12-11-3 edge in how they finished. However, Scott has a 5-1-1 advantage in the seven majors they have played, winning one of them. Stenson and Woods have played in 22 tournaments, with Woods having an 11-10-1 advantage (along with four wins to two for Stenson). Heres the very least the four contenders have to do for a chance at No. 1: -- Scott has to finish in the top 16. -- Stenson has to finish in the top six. -- Watson has to finish second alone. -- Kuchar has to win. "It would be the same as the green jacket," Watson said, describing it as the "pinnacle of the game." Scott has the most experience answering the questions, since it has been a mathematical possibility for more than two months. He couldnt hold a seven-shot lead at Bay Hill going into the weekend with a shot at No. 1. By now, as it was then, he cares more about winning. "Look, Im here to win golf tournaments," Scott said. "Thats been the goal and from that you can get to No. 1 in the world if you win often enough." Thats the way Woods always approached it, and it worked for him. Cheap Suns Jerseys China .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Devin Booker Jersey . Smiths former Atlanta teammates were glad to hang on for an ugly win. http://www.cheapsunsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-dragan-bender-jersey .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. Kevin Johnson Jersey . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. Cheap Swingman Suns Jerseys . "Im not even that added up," the 39-year-old Australian replied. And to the Hall of Famers surprise, when all the math was done Sunday in the JTBC Founders Cup, she was the one posing for pictures with the big trophy.MOSCOW -- Maxim Kovtuns two confident quads gave him a big lead after Fridays short program in the Rostelecom Cup, the last of six Grand Prix events before the final. As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. Javier Fernandez of Spain was in third despite falling on his quad. In the womens short program, Russian Julia Lipnitskaia was in the lead, followed by Carolina Kostner of Italy, the 2012 world champion. American teammates Agnes Zawadzki and Mirai Nagasu were one-hundredth of a point apart at third and fourth, though well behind the two leaders. Kovtun is gunning for the sole Russian mens slot in Sochi, which Turin Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko also wants. Plushenko was to have been part of the Rostelecom field, but withdrew from what would have been his first top-tier competition since back surgery this spring. Plushenko blamed his withdrawal on a knee injury. "I was interested in trying my strength against such a fantastic skater," Kovtun said. "But I hope I will have another chance at Russian nationals." Kovtun was strong throughout his flamenco-themed program, the only notable flaw that he was almost sitting on the landing of his second quad to keep his balance. Machida, who won gold at Skate America, lamented that he was not in good condition in Moscow, but said its not clear whats troubling him. "Actually, I dont know," he said when asked about the specifics. Fernandez, the European champion and world bronze medallist , expressed satisfaction despite his fall. "I think I just had a little problem in the pattern and I just need to keep my mind clear," he said. All four of the top women did triple-triple combinations. But Lipnitskaia landed a more difficult triple lutz-triple toe combo while Kostner, Zawadzki and Nagasu all did triple toe-triple toes. In pairs, four-time worrld champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy led after the short program, followed by Russians Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov and Canadas Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch.dddddddddddd Lipnitskaia, who won gold at Skate Canada, will qualify for the Grand Prix final with a medal of any shade in Moscow. Kostner would qualify with a gold, but Zawadzki, after a seventh-place finish in the Cup of China, is out of contention. The top six skaters in each discipline qualify for the final, which is Dec. 5-8 in Fukuoka, Japan. Lipnitskaias program began on a mysterious note, with her crouched down and drawing figures with her finger on the ice. Asked what thats all about, she chose to keep the meaning hidden. "Everyone can see what he wants to," she said. But once she rose from the crouch, the 2012 junior world champions program was crystal-clear: a clean triple-triple, a precisely landed double axel and a very fast combination spin at the end. The veteran Kostner, who said she is contemplating retirement after the season, said she was soothed by being back on the ice at Moscows Luzhniki Small Arena. The arena was the practice rink for the 2005 world championships, where she won her first world medal, a bronze. "It feels very special," Kostner said. "Its funny to see so much time has passed." The top pairs all struggled, notably Savchenkos hard fall on a throw triple axel, a challenging move that the pair daringly puts almost at the end of their program when their energy has flagged somewhat. "Its a risky element," Szolkowy acknowledged. "We tried it in several positions; we found at the end it is best." Bazarova put her hand down on the pairs opening triple toe loop and landed awkwardly on the throw triple loop, but said it was all an improvement over last weeks Trophee Bompard, where the pair was fourth. "Today, we got the maximum levels," she said. Moscovitch took his fall in stride, saying, "I was working on some yoga positions on the landing." 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