Rising Star

April 13, 1997 – 21 year old Tiger Woods won the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Leading by 9 strokes heading into the final round, Woods expanded his massive lead and won the tournament by 12 strokes ahead of veteran Tom Kite, an astonishing 18 under par.

Tiger with a full head of hair at the 1997 Masters. That was a L..O..N..G time ago! 1

April 10, 2011 – 21 year old Rory McIlroy holds a four stroke lead, at 12 under par, heading into the final round of the Masters. McIlroy would suffer an epic and historic collapse in the final round, shooting 80 and finishing in 15th place. Comparisons were drawn by sports journalists to Greg Norman, who lost a six stroke lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters, not Woods.

June 19, 2011 – 22 year old Rory McIlroy roared to a massive eight stroke lead at a record 14 under par after three rounds. Rory was the story. There were multiple recurring themes in the sports media throughout the day:

1) Would McIlroy win his first, ever, major tournament or would he have a repeat of his Masters meltdown?
2) Is McIlroy the next Tiger Woods?
3) Does he have to potential to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 career majors victories?


RORY'S THE STORY
As you have probably heard, repeatedly, Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open in record fashion, finishing eight strokes ahead of Jason Day at a record 16 under par. This is a defining moment in the young man’s golfing career. His enthusiasm, visible confidence, and strut on the golf course drew comparison after comparison to Tiger Woods during the course of the tournament. His aggressive, powerful swing and absolute domination of the field made him the only headline and turned the tournament at Bethesda, Maryland into a contest for the consolation prize of second place for all of the other competitors in the tournament.

Rory McIlroy enjoyed the sweet kiss of victory in his first major tournament. 2

While McIlroy is only at the beginning of his professional golfing journey, yesterday represented what may have been a significant fork in the road. A win, as expected after Saturday’s third round, placed McIlroy on a road to golfing stardom, very similarly to the road traveled by Woods in the late 1990s. Another epic meltdown would likely have resulted in endless questions ensuing about McIlroy’s ability to join the golfing elite. For every comparison of McIlroy to Woods and Nicklaus, I heard as many comparisons to Greg Norman and 2 time NBA Finals runner up LeBron James, another young superstar athlete who, like McIlroy, has come close to reaching the top of the mountain in his sport, but fell short.

It is my sincere hope that Tiger Woods’ rehabilitation from knee and ankle ailments have been successful and he will be a viable competitor in the British Open in 3 weeks. Since Woods’ string of injuries and personal challenges, dating back to 2008, the golfing world has been in desperate need for an attention grabbing story. Sports talk host Colin Cowherd said, on his show, something to the effect of golf is just golf without Tiger Woods, but when Woods is playing and competitive, “It’s like a SPORT!” With Woods and McIlroy in the British Open field, golf could be an EVENT!

Regardless of Woods' health or participation in the British Open, golf has a badly needed and long coveted asset: another marketable star who can draw the attention of the casual golf fan. Time will tell how successful McIlroy’s career will be. After this past weekend, however, McIlroy rose to the level of the stars, and his star is rising quickly.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy: Get ready to hear both of those names, at the same time, a lot, going forward. 3

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1) Image from sportinglife.com
2) Image from csmonitor.com
3) Image from sportressofblogitude.com