Backspin: Westwood backs up No. 1 ranking; Back 9; more

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In June, Lee Westwood trailed Robert Garrigus by three strokes late in the final round of the St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew when Garrigus infamously triple-bogeyed the final hole to fall into a playoff that Westwood ultimately won.

"You certainly don't think three behind ... ," Westwood said at the time. "It's amazing how things pan out."

Fast forward to this week and Westwood could utter similar words about his current position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Nearly a decade after plummeting to No. 266, Westwood finds himself perched atop the rankings and in a position he could very well hold for at least a few months.

One could argue that Westwood isn't the best player in the world right now -- Martin Kaymer has four wins, including a major, this year -- but he's certainly made sure there's at least an argument. This year Westwood has six finishes in the top three, including the aforementioned win in Memphis and a runner-up in China last week at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

"It wasn't really about the rankings," Westwood said Sunday in China. "It was about trying to win this week. The rankings come as a consequence of playing well, and I'm playing well and I know I am. Today is just very typical of how I've played for the last two years."

That doesn't mean Westwood doesn't take an awful lot of pride and confidence from being No. 1 -- "Right at this very moment, I can show people the world ranking and say, 'Look, I'm the best in the world. I'm the best on the planet for golf at the moment.' It's a fairly large achievement when you look at the people who were No. 1 in the ranking," he said after taking over the top spot.

But Westwood isn't the only one playing well, however. Kaymer's exploits are already well documented, while Tiger Woods seems to be working his way back to his former greatness. Add guys like Rory McIlroy, who rebounded from a slow start at the HSBC Champions to finish fifth, and the tournament's winner, Francesco Molinari, and all of a sudden the game is looking like it has as much parity as it does global reach.

And that's not a bad thing -- just ask the NFL.

Now the question is how long Westwood will remain No. 1. The last time Woods lost the top spot in the rankings was to Vijay Singh in 2004. Singh held that spot for 26 weeks. Woods has held it ever since -- until now. Will it be another 26 weeks -- or longer -- before he reclaims it? We're about to find out.

On a side note, Stock Up/Stock Down will return next week in a season-ending edition of Monday Backspin. Now onto The Back Nine ...

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Francesco Molinari's win in China was more than just the biggest victory of his career. It was also the latest sign of just how international the game has become. Italy doesn't exactly have a rich golf history, but in the Molinari brothers (Edoardo teamed with Francesco to win the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup last year and has twice won on the European Tour) and Matteo Manassero, who became the youngest player to ever win on the European Tour at age 17, it has a pretty bright future. Those three will be around -- and have an impact -- for the next decade.

2. Speaking of the game's future, Sergio Garcia was once that. This season, though, was the worst of his career and he's been scarce since the PGA Championship in August. He did, however, serve as a vice captain for the victorious European Ryder Cup team, for which he was an integral locker room presence, and last week was in China, where he gave Molinari a couple of tips. Those kind of moments should help Garcia rebound from an otherwise abysmal year.

3. As for the Ryder Cup, Molinari's experience playing against Tiger Woods certainly helped in his holding off Westwood in China. "Obviously they are different players," Molinari said. "But when you are playing against the No. 1 in the world, it is not easy to always stick to the game plan and do your own game." Molinari did and he won because of it.

4. That said, don't expect to see Molinari on the PGA TOUR. "I'm a European Tour member," Molinari said when asked about playing more in the U.S. "I'm proud to be a European Tour golfer, and it's a great moment for European golf and I'm really happy to give my contribution to that."

5. Putting Anthony Kim's withdrawal from the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open aside, the 25-year-old told the Golf Channel last week was the first week he hit well since returning from thumb surgery. Kim has another month of rehab, he said, and that he's feeling about "85-90" percent. Hand or wrist injuries are a funny thing, however, and you have to wonder what kind of effect this will have on Kim, who finished in a tie for 25th in China.

6. The season is almost over -- this week's Children's Miracle Network Classic is the final event on the schedule -- but don't be surprised if we see one more 59 this season. Justin Rose shot 60 on the Palm Course at Disney four years ago and the par-5s there are all reachable.

7. Where does Bernhard Langer's season rank with its five wins and season-long Charles Schwab Cup victory? Pretty high. We haven't seen this kind of dominance on the Champions Tour since Hale Irwin capped a remarkable three-year stretch with five wins in 1999 after a combined 16 victories in the previous two years. I don't know that Langer will be able to put together that kind of run because the Champions Tour is much deeper now than it was then, but Langer does have a dozen wins over his last three years on the over-50 circuit.

'Miracle at Merion'

Book excerpt

Read the first chapter in David Barrett's new Ben Hogan biography. Chapter 1

8. If you're looking for a good book this holiday season, 'Miracle at Merion' would be worth it. I haven't had a chance to read the whole book yet, but here's an excerpt from the story of Ben Hogan's remarkable win at the 1950 U.S. Open: George Fazio later recounted an incident in the third round that showed Hogan's focus. At the par-4 second hole, Fazio holed out his second shot from the rough for an eagle two.

After the round, Fazio noticed that Hogan, who was keeping his scorecard, had marked him down for a birdie on the second hole instead of the eagle. Not only that, but Hogan at first refused to change the score because he didn't remember that Fazio made an eagle. "You S.O.B., I hit my career shot and you don't even remember it," Fazio said to Hogan. Hogan's own third-round scorecard showed a 68 that gave him a two-stroke lead over Jimmy Demaret in a tournament that had essentially become a two-man race.

9. Speaking of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, there will be some needling the next time Tiger Woods is at Isleworth, where winner John Cook is also a member. In terms of victory banners, it's Cook 1, Tiger 0 for this year.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4 485-yard 17th at Magnolia Golf Club NEXT WEEK: "The most dangerous hole on the course: Tee shot over water, then a long mid-iron to a well-protected narrow green. Give me a 4 here and I'll run to 18!" -- Lanny Wadkins Click here to tour the Kodak Challenge holes | Current Kodak Challenge standings

The Forward Spin

The Children's Miracle Network Classic marks the final event of the 2010 season on the TOUR as well as one of the final opportunities for a player to lock up a card for next season. That means the pressure will be on Briny Baird, No. 126 on the money list, to not miss the cut, which is something he's done a dozen times in 27 starts this year. Basically, anyone ranked 126th or lower not otherwise exempt, will need to play well at Disney, where dreams really can come true for some (or nightmares can be had by others). The other race to keep an eye on? The Kodak Challenge. Troy Merritt leads by one over Rickie Fowler and Aaron Baddeley. All three are in the field and all have a shot at the $1 million check.