Friday, May 07, 2010

McIlroy's Performance At Quail Still Has People Talking

It has been nearly a week since Rory McIlroy wrote his name in the sky above the Quail Hollow Club but the impact of what he did continues to reverberate.

McIlroy's Sunday 62 and breakout victory went beyond a typical victory on the PGA Tour. It was so spectacular that it has launched the discussion as to whether it may be the moment when the professional game began to shift toward a new generation. It's too early to tell but give it three or four years and we'll know more.

That's not to say that Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are going anywhere. Mickelson is at the top of his game right now and has talked about his goal of being competitive throughout his 40s. Woods is in a tough spot right now but over time he'll be back and have something to prove. I still expect him to win a major championship this year, most likely the British Open at St. Andrews.

What McIlroy did at Quail Hollow crystallized the potential of the next generation, which includes Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim and Ryo Ishikawa. McIlroy may ultimately be the best of them but each of them brings both a big game and a big personality to the first tee.

Almost every place I've gone since McIlroy's victory people have wanted to talk about what he did. It excited people and for good reason. It's something to hold on to.

1 comments:

Jon Tarleton said...

Seems to me that a new Golden Age of golfers is coming- some great young talent along with very slightly older guys (though still young) like
Westwood, Harrington, O'Hair, Stenson, etc. And this barely 20's group is really laying its claim to fame, already proving to be real deals. I'm excited and it has nothing to do with the world #'s 1 and 2.