Those who believe that Tiger Woods' return to the top of the PGA rankings has been hollow because of his inability to win a major may feel some satisfaction this weekend:

Woods could lose his No. 1 ranking to defending Masters champion Adam Scott, according to the Golf Channel.

According to the channel's world-ranking guru Alan Robison, Scott could supplant Woods as No. 1 if he were to win the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in Miami and Woods not finish in the top five to seven.

Scott needs at last 60 points to leapfrog Woods into the No. 1 spot. Russell Henley earned 60 points for his win at the Honda Classic last weekend, and the Golf Channel reports the Doral event should be worth more because it has a stronger field.

Woods' status for Doral is up in the air after he pulled out of the Dubai Championships on Sunday after 13 holes because of back spasms. He has a press conference schedule for Wednesday, in which he is expected to say whether he will compete this weekend.

Woods lost his No. 1 ranking in October of 2010 after staying atop the golfing world for 545 weeks, beginning in August, 1999. Woods had been No. 1 for a record 281 consecutive weeks from June, 2005 until that fateful October.

Tiger has been No. 1 a startling 673 weeks overall.

He regained the No. 1 ranking on March 25, 2013 but has yet to break through at a major championship event since the 2008 U.S. Open.

Scott has four top-10 finishes at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, including a tie for third in 2013, but never has won the event.

He won three times in 2013, the last coming in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf on Oct. 16.