Mike Cormack

Another week and another opportunity for Phil Mickelson to finally pass Tiger and become world No. 1.

Phil Mickelson doesn't like to do things the easy way.

Just look at the way he plays golf, how long it took him to break through and win his first major championship and the difficulty he is now having trying to surpass a struggling Tiger Woods atop the world golf rankings.

The 40-year-old Mickelson is playing on the European Tour this week at the Loch Lomand Scottish Open as a tune-up for next week`s Open Championship at St. Andrews, and for the fifth time since his Masters victory in April he will enter an event with the chance to surpass Woods.

But much like his pursuit of that first major championship, or the U.S Open title that continues to elude him, Mickelson has so far failed to seal the deal despite several golden opportunities.

In the four events Mickelson has entered this year with a chance to overtake Woods with a victory, he has only seriously contended at one, the U.S. Open.

Players Championship: T17

Colonial: Missed Cut

The Memorial: T5

U.S. Open: T4

Since the world golf rankings were launched 24 years ago, only a dozen men have held the official title of best golfer in the world, and only four of those (Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and David Duval) have done so in the Tiger Woods era (1996-present).

Mickelson's resume is as good or better than those mentioned above, but he has failed to seize the crown with the same sense of urgency as Duval and Singh did.

In 1999, a red-hot Duval took it away from Woods by winning The Players Championship in his first opportunity to pass him.

Five years later, Singh supplanted Woods by beating him head-to-head in the final round at the Deutsche Bank in Boston.

Two weeks go at the LPGA Championship, Cristie Kerr found herself with the chance to become the No. 1-ranked female golfer in the world and she responded with a 12-shot win.

Mickelson has acknowledged topping the rankings is a goal of his, saying it would be "pretty cool."

His lukewarm response is reminiscent of his stance years ago while he was chasing that first major. We knew it was important to him, but until he got the job done, he wouldn't let us know just how much.

Back then, Mickelson was branded with the biggest back-handed compliment in golf: best-player-never-to-win-a-major.

With Woods showing no signs of emerging from his post-sex-scandal slump anytime soon, the Scottish Open is far from a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for the left-hander.

But if he's not careful, the younger and more consistent Lee Westwood is lurking close behind him at No. 3 and could leapfrog Mickelson and Woods to No. 1 himself with a win at St. Andrews.

At that point, Mickelson might find himself with a new title: best-player-never-to-be-ranked-No. 1.

News & Notes

-- Someone at the R&A has a wicked sense of humour; otherwise how do you explain the club's decision to pair Tiger Woods with frequent critic Nick Faldo for the Champions Challenge on the eve of the Open Championship?

-- Bob Weeks of Score Golf Magazine points out that the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic is taking place this week on the Nationwide Tour, but no one seems to notice.

-- German Martin Kaymer will be a sexy longshot pick for many next week and this profile of him in the Scotsman, reveals a very confident, but humble young star.

-- The Wall Street Journal profiles Kerr, the new ladies' No. 1, who has gone from one of the most disliked players on Tour, to one of the most respected.