Tiger Woods lies 50th in the world rankings and the only reason for such a lofty position is his success from the past.
Dustin Johnston is ranked fifth, he moving upwards all the time, and is American golf's new poster boy. Right now, you could expect Johnson to win a major tournament next year.
Many cannot see Woods winning even a club medal, given his form and fitness. And yet Johnson lost Jo LaCava, his trusted caddie, to Woods this week.
It's probably the only time a player in the top five has seen his bagman walk out for a player whose career looks to be in decline. However, the talk around the PGA Tour is that while Woods's scores are not reflective of any improvement, his game is coming back together.
This is apparently why he has been chosen as a wild card for the US team for Presidents Cup to play an International Team, representing the rest of the world, less Europe.
And this week David Love III, the US captain, said the former world No 1 will be on the Ryder Cup side next year.
Next year! If Woods's troubles continue in the same vein, he will be lucky to still be in the top 100.
But, as LaCava will tell you, it would take a foolish man to give up on Woods.
He is banking on their being many more millions to be made if you are by Woods's side.
