(REUTERS) - Tiger Woods has dropped outside the top 100 in the world golf rankings for the first time since 1996.

The 39-year-old former world No. 1 and 14-time Major champion, who has not played since pulling out of the Farmers Insurance Open in early February due to back problems, has slipped to 104th in the rankings.

The American first topped the list in 1997 and has spent 683 weeks as world No. 1, more than twice as long as any other player.

Woods' last Major title was the 2008 US Open but he won five PGA Tour events in 2013 and topped the rankings in May 2014 before suffering injury problems and a loss of form.

He shot a round of 82 at the Phoenix Open in January, the worst of his professional career.

Woods hopes to return to play in next week's US Masters in Augusta, the first Major of the year which he has won four times.