Hauser: Whoever gets No. 1 spot in the OWGR earns it

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Why should Lee Westwood apologize? Or be asked to explain -- justify might be a better word -- just how he can be the No. 1 player in the world and not have won a major?

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This one just makes you want to scream.

Not worthy of No. 1?

Really? Seriously?

Westwood isn't the first No. 1 player who hasn't won a major and he won't be the last. Luke Donald hits one more green last Sunday and he would likely be in that same unenviable -- and totally unfair -- situation instead. Still might be depending on how things unfold in the next few weeks.

Donald calls this whole who's-in-first thing a bit exciting. Fun for the game, really.

"Certainly No. 1 is not the final goal,'' Donald said. "It's a constant travel. You're constantly moving forward in this game. To be No. 1 would be great, but it's not everything. It certainly would be a tick in the box and it would be something great to talk to the grandkids in 30 years' time and say that you were the best in the world, but I still have a lot of chances to do that.''

Another one this week. And the next. And ...

Westwood. Donald. Martin Kaymer. Graeme McDowell. Rory McIlroy. Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods. All of them are in the mix. Or, like Adam Scott and Nick Watney, trying to work their way into it.

"There are a lot of very good players in the world, so you can't afford to have any weaknesses," Westwood said. "The secret to being world number one is consistency -- all parts of your game have to be good."

There's nothing totally simple about being -- or becoming -- No. 1 right now. It all boils down to that equation they run through the Official World Golf Ranking computer every Sunday night. A combination of strength of field, finish and consistency -- over the last TWO years. Not last week. Not last month. Not this year.

Feed the numbers into the equation and let it sort. Just two decimal points needed. What-happens-if details follow for this week's events.

The last eight weeks, the top spot belonged to Kaymer. This week Westwood jumped back to the top.

Next week?

The computer doesn't give a rip about a major or a win in Abu Dhabi. Or emotion, passion, fist pumps, Q-rating, style, fashion, endorsements, nationality or popularity. Just those weighted values to plug into the equation. Pure math.

So why are we so disappointed? Why grump, treat the top spot as an on-going kerfuffle and wonder when the world might get a worthy No. 1?

Why indeed?

Quite simply we got spoiled. As in spoiled beyond belief with Tiger playing so far above the field, setting every bar in the game at a to-the-nth-power level that we had a No. 1 in perpetuity. Before that, Greg Norman.

They were both dominant. Forces of nature and the game. Guys who grabbed No.1 and didn't just hang on. They pushed the envelope with, oh, three or four or five wins a year. Guys who commanded our attention and respect because they were doing that and winning majors -- 14 for Tiger; two for Norman, plus countless almosts -- or World Golf Championship/big events.

The combination was exciting, compelling, put-that-game-on-a-pedestal dominant.

Norman spent 331 weeks at No. 1. Tiger? Try 623 weeks.

"Tiger dominated for a number of years and no one was close to him,'' Donald said. "But now it's a little bit more of a race and just a little added thing to the side that's kind of fun for the spectators.''

A little bit more of a race? Try a lot.

You saw Donald miss greens and putts Sunday. The computer saw a second-place-finish points. You saw Westwood beat a field filled with names you didn't know. The computer? Winner's points.

Forget those big seasons for the moment and concentrate on what we have -- Tiger's process, Phil's moments, a whole lot of top 10s and, at best a couple of players with a couple of wins a year.

Westwood has won three times in the last 16 months, had 10 top fives and 13 top 10s. Over the same period, Donald has two wins -- one the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play -- 13 top-fives and 19 top 10s.

Combined, that's Tiger numbers. Individually, that's the new reality.

Padraig Harrington won three of six majors in 2007-2008 and never got higher than third in the world. Yes, Tiger was still No. 1. Mickelson had months of chances last year, but wound up battling psoriatic arthritis. Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk each won three times last year -- McDowell with that U.S. Open win -- and they started 2011 as No. 5 and 6 in the world.

Westwood, Donald and Kaymer dinked away with those top 10s and wins. Only one of them has a major.

Duval won his major two months after he got to No. 1. He'd also won a dozen tournaments -- and had 49 top 10s -- in the previous four years. The first time Westwood shot to No. 1 was when Tiger was coming back from/dealing with his off-course problems. Westwood stepped up with four top 3s in the previous six majors.

And now? Instead of celebrating his 18th week as the best in the world, he found himself at the Ballantine's Championship being asked to justify becoming No. 1 without a major on his resume. Again.

"The only thing that gets to me about answering that question is the amount of times I have to answer it, it gets on my nerves," Westwood said.

"This might be the very last time I answer this question -- it could become 'no comment' after this. The world rankings and the major championships are two completely separate things.''

Indeed. So let's stop asking for apologies or justifications. Or, for the moment, to-the-nth degree dominance.

Instead, let's just sit back and enjoy the shuffle. The majors will come.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.