Tiger Woods' ranking drops to lowest point since 1996

Woods' wait for a victory on the PGA tour stretches back to 2009

Tiger Woods is set to drop out of the world's top 50 for the first time in almost 15 years when the updated rankings are published on Monday.

Woods, 35, who has not won since the 2009 Australian Masters, had been in the top 50 for 778 weeks since October 1996 - 623 of those at number one.

His ranking drop was guaranteed when Louis Oosthuizen tied for fifth at the Dunhill Links Championship.

Woods has won 14 majors - the last of which was the US Open in 2008.

Since breaking into the top 50, Woods has dominated the rankings like no other.

On 3 June 2001, his points average stood at 32.44 points - by way of comparison his current average is 2.8, while current number one Luke Donald averages 10.7 and is the only man in double figures.

By his own high standards Woods has endured a miserable 2011, the sole highlight being finishing tied for fourth at the Masters.

In his last event, the US PGA Championship in August, he missed the cut after rounds of 77 and 73 and in the year to date he has acquired only 45.4 points, fewer than Blake Adams in 169th place.

He did, though, recently receive a wild card pick for the United States Presidents Cup team for the match against a non-European International side in November.