It’s been one of golf’s top stories in some capacity since early 2010: Tiger’s comeback. He was in contention at the 2010 Masters—his first event since news broke of his extensive affair—and analysts couldn’t help but presume Tiger would soon be back to his major-championship-winning ways.
When he won the Chevron World Challenge in late 2011—his first victory since the scandal—talking heads figured Tiger was knocking on the backdoor. When he won Jack’s tournament this June—Tiger’s first “big” win since the scandal—in vintage Tiger fashion, I peed my pants and wrote a column saying he was just one major victory away from returning to the Tiger of old.
We’ve all been waiting for his return; the sport needs Tiger Woods. But Rory McIlroy isn’t too bad of a consolation prize. It’s like ordering traditional chicken wings, only the waitress brings out boneless instead. It isn’t exactly what you wanted, but the alternative is newer, fresher and not a man whore.
Quick tangent: I still root for Tiger every time he plays, because he dominated golf like no athlete has ever dominated a sport before. I want to watch him do it again, even if it’s for only a couple years. I think he’s the greatest golfer of all time, despite how much of a turd he was as a husband.
Throughout Tiger’s yet-to-happen comeback—and even toward the end of his peak as the world’s No. 1 player in 2008—a number of young, talented golfers have emerged. Disregard the fact most have accomplished next to nothing in comparison to Tiger.
In our generation of sports, we always want to know who’s next. Who will be the next MJ? Baseball analysts have already begun comparing Mike Trout to some of the game’s all-time greats. Trout’s teammate in Los Angeles, Albert Pujols, drew similar comparisons for many seasons before this one. But Pujols isn’t on pace to hit 40 home runs or bat .300 and Trout is 11 years younger, so we’ve moved on.
Ryan Lochte outdueled Michael Phelps for a gold medal in London, and almost immediately came the assumptions Lochte was on his way to supplanting the greatest Olympian ever. How can anyone make that conclusion?! No one knows anything of substance about swimming besides the sport’s seven writers!
So it’s understandable that golfers like Rory, Rickie Fowler and Ryo Ishikawa were presumed to be golf’s next big thing. The sport was without its superstar, and it hadn’t had a potential “next” golfer since Sergio Garcia, who faded out because he shit the bed once a putter was in his hands.
I don’t want to explicitly make the claim just yet. Heck, I’m not sure we’ll ever see another Tiger Woods, but if someone is going to spoil his comeback and become the new face of golf, Rory is the guy.
The two are quite similar from a golfing success standpoint.
Rory is 23. He has nine professional victories, including two major championships. Tiger had eight wins and two majors at the same age.
Rory creamed everyone at the 2011 U.S. Open, his first major championship win, by eight shots. No one had won the tournament in such a landslide since—you guessed it—Tiger, who beat the field by 15 in 2000. It was Rory’s “I’m here” moment, and it was only fitting it came with an immediate comparison to Tiger.
Tiger also won his first major dominating the competition, finishing 12 shots better than the next guy at the 1997 Masters.
Now, I know Rory needs a historic 2013 campaign if he wants to stay on pace with Woods, who won three of the four majors as a 24-year-old. But he’s on the right track, and that’s equally as exciting as the prospect of Tiger being Tiger once again.
Plus, Rory differs from Tiger in the one area that derailed Woods’ status as the ultimate role model—something an athlete needs to be if he’s the face of a sport.
Rory’s performance dipped following his U.S. Open win in 2011. Many expected him to take off with a major under his belt; the sky was the limit. But Rory had girl issues. He was allegedly spending too much time with his girlfriend, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. However, once Rory was criticized for doing so and his commitment to the game was put in question, he responded by winning the PGA Championship this year. It was short and truly meaningless period that probably shouldn’t have been criticized in the first place, unlike Tiger’s lengthy and heavily publicized affair.
Rory’s kept the momentum rolling, too: he sits atop the FedEx Cup standings—a point system used to determine the PGA player of the year—with Woods right behind him. If either wins the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta this month, he’ll be the PGA player of the year.
The ultimate passing of the torch would obviously be Rory out dueling Tiger on Sunday at a major championship. The chances of that happening aren’t too good, but a similar scene at East Lake would be like boneless chicken wings. While it isn’t a major, I’m going to keep my eye on the leaderboard. The NFL takes a back seat if Rory and Tiger are in contention Sunday.
Do you think Rory can outduel Tiger at a major? Should Rory be annointed as golf’s next “great one?” Email Vince and let him know what you think at vhuth@dailycardinal.com
