Who will tame the Tiger?

NOW Ian Poulter has acclaimed himself the world's second-best golfer behind Tiger Woods – and don't think the jaunty Englishman isn't getting pelters from his colleagues for such a nonsensical outpouring – any hope of finding another real or imagined challenger for the presently all-conquering Californian is forlorn.

The gap between Tiger and the man ranked second in the world, Phil Mickelson, is currently a yawning 11.02 points (by way of comparison, the distance from Mickelson to the 100th-placed Chris DiMarco is only 7.09).

But nothing is impossible. Let's take a look at those "best" equipped to take the Tiger down.

ADAM SCOTT

Two or three times a year, as he proved last week when shooting a final-round of 61 to win in Qatar, the 26-year old Australian is completely unplayable. When he is on his game and the putts are dropping – although they tend not to be – Scott is a match for anyone, including Woods. But that still leaves 49 other weeks when the world No.1 swats Scott aside.

Odds against toppling Tiger: 50-1

JIM FURYK

Has almost everything Woods has – mental strength, a reliable short game and a pure putting stroke – except one thing: the former US Open champion doesn't hit the ball far enough to scare the Tiger. Hitting hybrid clubs and long irons into green after green isn't going to get the job done against a man 50 yards closer to the putting surface.

Odds: 75-1

SERGIO GARCIA

Hamstrung by a deteriorating stroke, the former Amateur champion is further hampered by a propensity for self-pity, as those who witnessed the immediate aftermath of last year's Open Championship will testify. One thing El Nino does have going for him, however, is his ability to irritate the world No.1. Tiger can't stand him.

Odds: 80-1

ERNIE ELS

As he closes in on 40, the former US Open and Open champion looks to be fighting a losing battle in his attempts to recapture the time when he was the second-best player on the planet, before a knee injury put him out for six months. The big South African's swing still looks smooth and easy, but the putting stroke does not. And frustration is more and more apparent.

Odds: 100-1

JUSTIN ROSE

Currently Europe's highest-ranked golfer, the fresh-faced Englishman by way of South Africa is a man on the up. Yet doubts remain over his ability to translate fine play between Thursday and Saturday into victory on the Sabbath. There is still time for someone who is still only 27 years old to turn that tendency around, but the scar tissue is building. The next 12 months will tell us much about just how far young Justin can go.

Odds: 100-1

HENRIK STENSON

The big-hitting Swede has experience of going head-to-head with Tiger and coming out on top, in Dubai last year. So he has the game. He also has the attitude, a quiet confidence in his own ability to play his best golf when it matters most. Stenson is also the current world match play champion, proof indeed that he can look even the sternest opponent directly in the eye without blinking. And, perhaps most importantly, he hits the ball miles and miles off the tee, just like Tiger.

Odds: 40-1

PHIL MICKELSON

Judged only on the cheesiness of the victory grin he tends to deliver, it is clear that Phil enjoys beating Tiger, even if he doesn't do it very often. But the bigger question is whether the world's best left-hander is prepared to work hard enough to mount a more sustained challenge. In short bursts he is fine and is obviously good enough to win at the highest level, as a haul of three major wins testifies. At the end of every season, however, "Lefty" always looks knackered and disappears off for a long break his game nearly always needs even more time to recover from. That's giving Tiger too much of a start.

Odds: 80-1

GEOFF OGILVY

Since he lifted the US Open title at Winged Foot in mid-2006, the Australian's steady progress up the world rankings has stagnated. Still, he has the shots and the mind-set to cause Tiger trouble two or three times a year. He'll be even more dangerous if one of those weeks coincides with one of golf's four most important events.

Odds: 80-1

KJ CHOI

A consistent and increasingly impressive winner of important titles on the PGA Tour, the big Korean has a contrastingly poor record in the four majors Not once has he seriously threatened to win a Grand Slam event. It wouldn't come as a huge surprise if he did, though. Choi tends to win big events on big courses, those most similar to major venues. If it comes down to who is steadiest in a week when Tiger is at less than his best, the inscrutable former power-lifter may just muscle his way to a seminal victory.

Odds: 100-1

RORY SABBATINI

Like Garcia, the gum-chewing South African with the Texan accent has long eliminated himself from the Woods family Christmas card list. Sabbatini has found out the hard way that hacking off the world's best golfer is perhaps not the best way to beat him. Time after time, he has been left eating Tiger dust as Woods has sped off into the middle distance.

Odds: 500-1

So there you have it. While any or all of the above may have a wee chance every now and then – when the sun and the moon and the stars fall into just the right alignment – none of them is going to be beating Tiger any time soon. No matter what one Ian Poulter might think.