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LONDON. — Former number one Tiger Woods has dropped out of the world top 100 for the first time in his golf career as he continues his battle against injuries and loss of form.

The 14-time major winner, who first broke into the top 100 when he turned pro in 1996, has fallen to 104th from 96th in the latest rankings issued after the weekend’s tournaments.

The 39-year-old American has spent a cumulative record 683 weeks as world number one and was last in that position in May, 2014 when he was replaced by Australian Adam Scott.

Since then, a succession of injuries and swing problems have bedevilled him and are threatening to derail the rest of his career.

Just last January Woods posted an 82 in the Phoenix Open — his worst round as a professional — that saw him drop outside the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in more than three years.

Since then his downward slide has continued resulting in him failing to qualify for last month’s WGC-Cadillac Championship, an event he had captured seven times. — AFP.