• The Players Championship

I need to win to be No. 1 - Tiger

Tiger Woods has admitted he does not deserve to keep his world No. 1 status if he does not start winning golf tournaments.

The 14-time Major champion has been the best player in the world for the last 258 weeks and a total of 596 weeks in his career, but could be overtaken by long-standing No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the Players Championship this weekend.

If Woods, who has been paired with Hunter Mahan and Ian Poulter for the opening round on Thursday, finishes outside the top five and Mickelson wins the title, the Masters champion will become world No. 1 for the first time and Woods will drop to No. 2.

Both David Duval and Vijay Singh have had spells at No. 1 since Woods first reached the top of the world golf rankings, and believes he will not be adversely affected should he be knocked from the top.

"I have had it happen before - with DD and Vijay," Woods said. "The whole idea is that to be No. 1 and to continue being No. 1 you have to win golf tournaments and I haven't done that in a while."

The Sawgrass event will be Woods' third tournament following his five-month break from the sport, and his seven-over second-round 79 at Quail Hollow last week saw him miss the cut for just the sixth time in his career. But he insists he is happy with the progress he has made and claims he knows what the "fix" is.

"I don't like missing the cut," he said. "But my game is getting better, there is no doubt, but it couldn't get any worse. It is one of those things, it needs a little bit of work to tidy things up.

"I have had moments before when I didn't hit the ball well coming into an event. But you have to turn it around and focus. I know what the fix is but I have to go out there and execute that consistently over 72 holes. It is taxing away from the golf course, with a lot of paparazzi following me. I didn't have those distractions last time getting ready for events."

Meanwhile, the man who could leapfrog Woods in the rankings admitted to be crowned the world No. 1 would be a dream come true, but he would try put the milestone out of his mind at Sawgrass.

"It is every player's goal to be recognised as the No. 1 player in the world," said Mickelson. "It is something I have been striving for but I haven't achieved yet. But for me to accomplish that I cannot focus on it. For the chance to achieve the No. 1 I have got to win and I have got a lot of work ahead of me."

Mickelson's rise to the top would come as a result of Woods' lengthy absence from the PGA Tour, but the Masters champion believes he reserves his best golf for when Woods is in the field.

"I have needed him to help me get my best golf," he said. "He pushes me to become a better player. When he and I would play earlier in my career I didn't perform to my best. But now I believe when I am paired with him he gets my best golf out of me, or at least I find a way to play my best golf."

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