Lee Westwood poised for world No1 spot as his German rival falls short

Lee Westwood is poised to become Europe's first world No1 golfer since Nick Faldo was toppled by Greg Norman in 1994. The Englishman's Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer continues to labour well off the pace at the Andalucía Valderrama Volvo Masters, and barring a staggering change of fortune in the final round he will not manage to make the top spot his own. Kaymer must win or share second place with no more than one other player if he, rather than Westwood – absent because of an injured calf – is to succeed Tiger Woods when the American's 281‑week reign ends on Monday. Having started his tournament with rounds of 72 and 74, Kaymer will have seen his 70 as a welcome improvement. But realistically he needed to shoot around 66 to move into contention and have a chance of frustrating the ambition of the 37-year-old Worksop player. The leaderboard showed that the 25-year-old German stood nine shots behind Graeme McDowell and Gareth Maybin, the Northern Irish pair who were comfortably clear of the field and sharing the lead on six under par. McDowell, the US Open champion, had two double bogeys in his one-over round of 72, at the seventh and 18th, and while Maybin dropped shots at the first and second holes he improved with three birdies before the turn and then had pars all the way home. Ireland's Damien McGrane shared third place with Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez on two under. McGrane shot 70 and Jiménez a level-par 71. Sergio García showed encouraging form with a round of 69 to move into a share of fifth place with Thomas Bjorn, who had four early birdies and bogeys in a 71. Sweden's Niclas Fasth dropped from third to 13th by following a 66 with a 76, but he was still one shot better off than Kaymer. Despite winning four times this season, Kaymer will almost certainly have to wait for his chance to become the second German to top the world rankings. His countryman Bernhard Langer was No1 when the rankings were launched in 1986, conceding the position three weeks later to Seve Ballesteros. When Woods began his latest stint at No1, Westwood stood 35th and was making a comeback after slumping from fourth in 2001 to outside the top 250 less than two years later. Westwood has not won a tournament this season but has had second places at three tournaments, including the Masters and Open Championship. He is due to return at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai this week.