Lee Westwood won't be a real No1 until he's lifted one of the Majors

Lee Westwood is expected to end Tiger Woods's five-year reign at the top of golf's world rankings at the end of this month, but it will have to be regarded as a hollow victory if he succeeds.

Westwood is without doubt one of the best in the game right now, as he proved at the Ryder Cup recently and with consistent high placings in tournaments all over the world.

Yet, like Colin Montgomerie, 37-year-old Westwood's record is undermined by his failure to win a Major and that means he is living in the shadow of fellow members of the European Tour, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell, let alone Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Five finishes in the top three of Major tournaments over the past two years suggests he is not too far away. However, it also means he has not been good enough.

The Englishman has won great ranking points as a result, which is why he will take first place if Tiger goes ahead with his plan not to play again this month.

Until he has one of the big trophies in his hand from winning an Open Championship, Masters, US Open or US PGA, though, Westwood's credentials of being the game's No1 golfer will be open to debate.

As with any sport, golf fans want to talk about what a player has won, not recite how many top-10 finishes he's had.

Woods has claimed an amazing 14 Majors and Mickelson is no disgrace with four, while McDowell and Kaymer got off the mark this year by lifting the US Open and US PGA.

Westwood has a very respectable 32 titles to his name, with victory at the Dubai World Championship last year being his most treasured triumph. That success, like most in his career, was on the European Tour, but he really needs to enter the winners' circle at one of the key events, when the whole world is watching and the best are competing.

At Augusta in April, he began the final round of the Masters holding a one-shot lead over Mickelson. However, his nerve deserted him when he needed it most and he paid the price for trying to play risk-free golf as the American's inspired 67 gave him the edge.

The test of any truly great player is how they handle the pressure when leading from the front and there is still a big question mark as far as Westwood is concerned. That accusation certainly can't be levelled at Kaymer or McDowell, who showed tremendous composure to conquer all-comers in the United States and, deep down, Westwood will be envious.

In fact, Kaymer, who has won three tournaments in a row, could even steel his thunder in the race for first spot in the rankings if he performs well at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Spain at the end of the month while Westwood takes time out to recover from a calf injury.

The German has risen to No4 in the world on the back of his winning streak. In terms of current form, his credentials for being regarded as No1 are arguably more convincing than that of his Ryder Cup team-mate.