Rory Days

In order for anyone to succeed, we must first fail. And after Rory McIlroy had collapsed in the Masters earlier this year, all eyes were on how the 22 year old would fair in the year's second major. Judging by the numbers, he exceeded all expectations.

The final stats for the young golfer when he turned his scorecard at the end of the US Open were jaw dropping. McIlroy finished 16 shots under par, with a final score of 69. His final score was the best score in the history of the Tournament and his eight stroke margin of victory was the third largest in US Open history: and also his eight stroke victory was tied for the sixth largest margin of victory in the history of Golf's four majors. But what may have been the most impressive about McIlroy's performance was the fact that he is was ninth youngest golfer ever to win the US Open at the age of 22 years, and 46 days old. Hmmmm, an extremely young golfer with a ton of talent wins the US Open by a huge margin; where have we all seen that before?

The answer is from this guy.

Yes , the now infamous Tiger Woods used to be the young gun with something to prove to the world of golf. During the 1997 Masters, Woods terminated the field throughout the weekend, for he lead by nine strokes heading into that Sunday and won by 12 strokes. But then, 13 years and 13 majors later, it was all but certain that Woods would eventually pass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Major wins. But since 2008, Woods has fallen from the good graces of his fans with a very loud thud. Tiger has not won a tournament since the 2008 U.S. Open, and he could not even participate in this year's Open due to an ACL injury. And since Woods has fallen so far, Golf is now in search of a new face that will bring casual viewers back to watching major tournaments; and although Phil Mickelson has been a recognizable name for the sport, his four majors pale in comparison to Wood's. So what about McIlroy? Is he the new face of golf now that Tiger is still struggling?


No. As long as Woods is still playing, Rory McIlroy is just another golfer living in the Tiger's den.

Now maybe one day McIlroy will be ready to take the torch of being the face of Golf from Tiger Woods, but while he now is 12 Majors and 70 PGA tournaments behind Tiger, let us all hold off on calling him the next anything for a little while. Since McIlroy is only 22, there is no sure fire way to tell whether or not he will become Arnold Palmer or the next Phil Mickelson until the rest of his career plays out. So for now, let us congratulate Rory McIlroy for his performance in the U.S. Open, but let us see how he does in the British Open before crowning him golf's savior.