Roaring McIlroy

I was convinced that the PGA Championship would be the tournament in which Tiger Woods would break out of his major tournament slump. Being “a little wrong” is like being “a little pregnant”, but I was a little wrong. If you pluck those two guys from the United Kindom, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter, from the leaderboard, two guys who simply caught fire on Friday and Sunday, Woods, the #1 ranked golder in the world and current FexEx cup points leader, was right there at the top.

Of course, if “if” were a fifth, we would all be drunk for free every day. Woods' game is back. He is at the top of the list for tournament wins in 2012. He WILL win another major; frankly, I think he is overdue. But this past weekend belonged to the Crown and to the young gun.

McIlroy is all smiles with good cause. 1

RIVAL?

Let’s be clear. There may never be another Tiger Woods. His run of dominance between 1997 and 2008 was unprecedented – not by the Golden Bear, not by Slammin’ Sammy, not by Lord Byron, not by the Black Knight, not by Ben Hogan, not by anybody – and in all probability will never be duplicated. Rory McIlroy will not be the next Tiger Woods. He appears, however, to be the next golfing megastar.

What makes McIlroy’s ascension fascinating is that it coincides with a Tiger Woods who is not in his peak, but is still (in the words of New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan), “Pretty f____n’ good!” These two have yet to be locked in any major tournament dog fight, but it is only a matter of time. Television golf ratings have lived and died with Woods for the past 15 years. However, it is becoming harder to ignore the McIlroy factor. He’s young, he’s good, and his name is the only one that can be mentioned in the same discussion as Woods’ name without forcing the issue.

Phil “Lefty” Mickelson? A good antagonist to Woods (or vice versa), but a step behind Tiger in the grand golfing scheme. Ricky Weeks? Hey, who doesn’t like a good Southern boy with bright, gaudy outfits? Not even worthy of being in the Woods discussion…. Adam Scott? Call me crazy, but the new boyfriend for the girl who got dumped (i.e. longtime Woods and current Scott caddie Stevie Williams) is only interesting if he ends up being an improvement. That went up in smoke at The Open Championship.

Tiger: "I'll see you next year." 2

NEXT YEAR

The 2012 PGA major season is over. Woods, again, came up empty handed, with no trophies from any of the big four. However, it is clear that his game is back, it is competitive, and it is a threat to all contenders. Personally, I am looking forward to the slate of 2013 majors. I think Tiger will really be “back”. And when Woods is “back”, golf is “back”.

Until then, to Rory go the spoils. At age 23, he now has two major tournament victories under his belt, having won the 2011 U.S. Open.  His brand will continue to rise rapidly. The sporting world cannot wait, however, to see McIlroy stare into the eye of the Tiger.

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1,2) Images from http://telegraph.co.uk