McIlroy draws comparisons to Tiger
BETHESDA, Md.
Even when Tiger Woods isn't here, he is a presence. He was the talk of the town at the U.S. Open this week, as Rory McIlroy was throttling the field and giving Congressional Country Club -- to use a political term from the last election -- "a shellacking."
Jason Day, who wound up finishing second, said of McIlroy the other day, "The way he's playing out there, it's almost Tiger-esque." Graeme McDowell, who handed back the U.S. Open trophy and wound up hugging the winner, said: "He's potentially the next Tiger Woods. He's that good."
It was only natural to compare McIlroy to Woods, considering no prodigy has wiped the floor with the opposition at a major like this since Woods did it a couple of times, at the 1997 Masters and 2000 U.S. Open. It might be a tad premature, maybe by, say, 15 years and at least a dozen major titles. So let's not get ahead of ourselves.
McIlroy is not likely to ever totally replace Woods as a galvanizing, marketable figure. He is not American. He doesn't have a catchy nickname (and the fancy head covers to match). He is not the groundbreaker that Woods was -- a black man in a mostly white sport.
But what McIlroy did do this past week was make golf fun to watch again, for now and for the foreseeable future. That was no easy task. Since the Woods era began with that Masters win, and especially since his three majors in 2000, it seems that Woods became golf in the eyes of the public, at least the American public. With the occasional exception of Phil Mickelson winning a biggie, it has seemed that if Woods wasn't winning a golf event, the event didn't matter.
This week was different. McIlroy was compelling, both because of his dominance and the risk that he might fall off a cliff again at any minute, as he had at the Masters. "I didn't think that was going to happen again, and it hasn't," said Jack Nicklaus, who has become a mentor to the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland.
At this point, McIlroy is even with both Nicklaus and Woods on one score. When each of the latter two was 22, he had one major. At this point, it is just cool to imagine McIlroy chasing Woods' standards the way Woods has been chasing Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles. Only this is better. Once Woods recovers from his knee and Achilles injuries, we will see them go head-to-head as elite players, the way Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer used to.
Now that will be worth watching.
McIlroy said Sunday, having accepted the U.S. Open trophy, that he always has watched Woods and tried to emulate him. He was still doing that Sunday. "Just trying to go out there with the same intensity he has -- no lead is big enough," the newest Open champion said.
"When you win a major quite early in your career, everyone is going to draw comparisons. It's natural. I know he doesn't watch much golf on TV," McIlroy said, although it is safe to assume Woods caught at least part of this Open. "It would be nice for him to be healthy again and be back out on the golf course because he does bring a little something extra to tournaments. He's Tiger Woods. I'm just happy to be sitting here with the trophy that has his name on it."
McIlroy has a long way to go to reach Woods' achievements and stature. Then again, the 2011 Open champion showed Sunday that he can rebound from spectacular failure -- and he is way ahead of Woods on that score.
Each of them brings much to the dance. When they both are on the same floor from now on, everyone who watches golf will be a winner.
