Tour News
McIlroy: Securing a place in golf history
Warning: if you don’t like comparisons of Rory McIlroy with Jack, Tiger, Hogan and other all-time greats, please change the channel now.
Thank you. The rest of you, follow me.
Rory McIlroy staked his claim as the best player in the world, running away from the field at the 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. McIlroy posted a blemish-free round of 66 to finish at 13-under par. In doing so, he broke more records than a DJ in an earthquake. He broke Nicklaus’ record for margin of victory in a PGA Championship and became the youngest to win the PGA Championship in the post-World War II era (besting Jack by three months) and secured two major victories four months earlier than Tiger Woods.
Physically, he’s smaller than Michelle Wie. But when he’s on, he is the longest hitter on the Tour and arguably the longest pound for pound hitter in the history of the game. He has touch around the greens, a precise and creative short game, and has displayed a mastery of the flat stick evidenced by the paltry 24 putts that he needed to get around Kiawah on Sunday. Like Nicklaus and Woods before him, he excels when the spotlight is brightest. And if you replace two rounds of 80 with two par rounds, he’d have the career Grand Slam right now today.
The iconic golfers of the past thirty years are Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. These are the players that not only won; they won in a way that made other people want to play like them. Nicklaus’s ability, Norman’s majesty and Seve’s joy are all apparent in the young champion from Northern Ireland. McIlrory was close to being a cautionary tale after his final round meltdown in the 2011 Masters, but he used that as incentive in winning the very next major in runaway fashion.
Both experiences were put to use this week, but as McIlroy admits, “The failure helped me more. I learned what I had to do to win in these situations and to achieve the things that I want to achieve.”
What do you get when you combine precocious talent with a helping of grace and maturity? The future.
The Golf Channel’s Steve Sands asked McIlroy his definition of the difference between success and greatness. The question gave McIlroy more trouble than anything he faced on the course on Sunday.
“Success is winning tournaments, and greatness…, uh, well, it’s hard to say.”
The men and women in the pantheon, and those who aspired to it and fell short, know the answer. Success is a moment in time, a comparative snapshot where an individual achieves what he or she always wanted to but maybe never believed that they could do. It’s being in the right place in the right time. It’s often as much luck as skill. Greatness is success squared, achievement over a sustained period of time. It’s when they stop comparing you to other players and start comparing others to you.
Tiger Woods has lived most of his career being compared to Jack. The next phase may find him more often or more accurately compared to Arnie. After winning six major championships starting with the 1958 Masters Palmer won his seventh, the 1964 Masters at the age of 34. That victory was his 43rd on Tour, and he went on to win another 19 times on Tour. But he never won another major. And there is no doubt that the appearance of a young Jack Nicklaus hastened Palmer’s decline.
Woods has three victories on Tour this year, and has the top spot in the FedEx and Ryder Cup standings, putting him in contention for Player of the Year honors. But it has now been four years since his last major championship victory. He is clearly more in control of his latest swing iteration, but the fact that he did not shoot an under par round in a major on the weekend this year raises words like “nerves” and “fragile” from observers.
Woods stunned reporters by saying that he was “too relaxed” during the critical third round pretty much sealed his fate. The only plausible explanation for the most intense competitor since Hogan trying to whistle a happy tune during a major championship is that he was trying to control his nerves. It is said that Palmer never won another major after he quit smoking. Tiger has added and subtracted so many parts that its hard to pick one that would be the key. He has always been a man in flux, but the variables were always of his choosing. Now, most of the changes that have taken place (age, scandal, injury) are not of his choosing and not under his control. Surely, Woods will win going forward and will be a factor when the lights shine brightest. But McIlroy seems to be to Tiger what Nicklaus was to Palmer, a force of nature blowing into what once was calm and orderly.
There are only two current players in the world under 40 with two majors; Woods and McIlroy. It will be fascinating to watch them walk together for a period. For Woods, McIlroy is both a mirror and a clock. Rory is a reflection of the inspiration that Woods instilled in young golfers all over the world with every scintillating moment in his career. And he is also a stopwatch, a ticking timer in Woods’ ear, reminding him that even for the best that ever lived, all glory is temporary.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Players Championship
On the heels of Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at Bay Hill, the PGA Tour heads a little farther north in Florida to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship. And of course, GolfWRX is on site to get a look at what the players are playing.
We’ve already spotted a new Titleist mini driver this week, and there’s plenty more.
Check out our photos below!
Pullout Albums
- New Titleist 2 wood – 2024 The Players Championship
- Cam Young testing Titleist’s new 2-wood – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Hole Nos. 17 and 18 – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Toulon Small Batch Texas putter – 2024 The Players Championship
- Swag Golf custom headcovers – 2024 The Players Championship
- New Ping PLD staff bags – 2024 The Players Championship
- SuperStroke St. Patrick’s Day putter grip – 2024 The Players Championship
- Taylor Montgomery using PuttView X training goggles – 2024 The Players Championship
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
GolfWRX is on the ground in Orlando ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
We’re assembling our usual collection of WITB photos, general galleries, and of course, gear inspired by the King himself.
We’ll continue to add to the photos below as more flow in from Florida.
General Albums
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #3
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1 (thanks, bvmagic!)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3 (bvmagic)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2 (bvmagic)
WITB Albums
- Matt (LFG) Every – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sahith Theegala – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Luke List – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Taylor Moore – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- David Ford – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Pullout Albums
- New Cameron putters (and new “LD” grip) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Bettinardi MB & CB irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Bettinardi API putter cover – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Swag API covers – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New PXG putters – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler putter change – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sepp Straka – shaft change to new Ventus blue – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Rickie Fowler’s new Cobra Darkspeed X driver and Denali shaft (and Radspeed 3-wood) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Justin Rose testing Srixon Z Forged II irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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James Lythgoe
Aug 28, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Rory Mcllroy is without doubt the person with the most potential in golf today. He golf swing is really a sight to behold -flawless. Not to mention, he has great fluidity in his spine so he gets through the ball better than the older players. Tiger has this once too.
I started watching golf back in the 1960’s so I have seen a few greats. There are qualities of Jack Nicklaus that I think people have forgotten. He was the best I have seen for getting the ball in the hole. I suspect he had fantastic depth perception in his vision.
Tiger Woods has hit golf shots that I never saw Jack hit. I don’t think of either golfer as being better than the other. They played in different times and so I would just as soon not answer the question of who is number one.
Seve Ballesteros had charisma so much so when I think of him I imagine that he won 100 majors. I know he didn’t but he won his majors with such flair that he left me with the impression he has won more majors than anyone else.
I hope that we can accept Rory for being Rory and not try to make him a replacement for Tiger. All of the great players had something unique to themselves and this is what we should seek from Rory.
Zach
Aug 15, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I think the thing that Rory has on his side (that Tiger does not) is balance. He seems to have an equilibrium and peace with his life outside the course and that can complement his game on the course. But more importantly that can lead to consistancy.Maybe not in Tiger Wood’s type of explosive dominance, but in a long term career sense. He wont have a blow out like Tiger when things inevitably go against you on the course.
Geneva
Aug 14, 2012 at 8:05 am
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Troy Vayanos
Aug 13, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Great post,
I’m a big fan of Rory’s and not just because of his excellence on the golf course. The way he handled that 2011 US Masters defeat was stuff of a champion.
I think it’s fitting that he has gone on to win 2 majors and I hope a lot more. Such a good role model and an ideal player to have as the number one golfer in the world.
golf fan
Aug 13, 2012 at 9:49 am
mcilroy is a kid with alot of talent that’s won 2 majors, does he have the drive that tiger did in his early 20’s? no…he won the us open, got a girlfriend and MC’d alot in recent tournaments…
who ranks #1 in the world, then can’t make weekends in events? mcilroy..that’s who
in reality, he is almost 14 majors away from tiger’s career and we compare him to nicklaus’ career…sounds like irrational exuberance to alot of us…
we are rooting for rory, let his sticks do the talking
Curt
Aug 12, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Come on with WITB!!! I want to know what driver shaft he was playing. We know it was a Diamana, but wondering if it was the new Plus D series???