US unless stated -16 Vijay Singh (Fij) -13 Adam Scott (Aus), Tiger Woods -10 Daniel Chopra (Swe), John Rollins -9 Hank Kuehne, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) Clubhouse scores

The 28-year-old American had held the top spot for five years and four weeks.

Singh, playing alongside Woods, carded a two-under 69 to claim his sixth PGA Tour title this year.

The 41-year-old Fijian finished on 16 under par for the tournament, three shots ahead of Woods and defending champion Adam Scott of Australia.

Singh sealed his 10th win since the start of 2003 in style, birdieing the last two holes to put some distance between himself and the man he is replacing as the world's best golfer.

Woods, typically, put up a brave fight, drawing level with Singh, the overnight leader by three shots, with six holes to play.

But a bogey at the 13th and a Singh birdie at the 15th ended the American's resistance, although he birdied the last to tie for second with Scott.

I've had a good run and (being number two) isn't too bad, is it? Tiger Woods Reaction from Vijay Singh

Woods' strangehold on the number one ranking began when he ousted David Duval with victory at the 1999 USPGA.

But the victories have dried up for the eight-time major winner in the last 12 months and it has been only a matter of time before one of the chasing pack knocked him off his perch.

At the beginning of the year it looked as though the red-hot Phil Mickelson might be the man to do it, and then Ernie Els had his chances to reclaim the top ranking that he last held 1998.

But when Singh picked up his third major title at the USPGA last month it became clear that it would be the softly-spoken workaholic from Fiji that would assume Woods' mantle.

World ranking points are accumulated over a two-year period, with points won in the most recent 13-week spell doubled.

Each player is ranked according to his average points per event, points being weighted according to the status of the event and strength of the field.