Rory McIlroy the new face of golf? - Page 2

I think it would be great if we could get a World Triumvirate.  They had the Great Triumvirate of Vardon, Taylor and Braid.  Then came the American Triumvirate Hogan, Snead, and Nelson.  Then the Modern Triumvirate of Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player/Trevino.  It would be great for golf fans and golf in general if we could get a Woods, McIlroy, and ? to step up and battle it out on the world stage of golf. 

I guess the real question is what do you think "The Face of Golf" really means? We had a similar debate about the "GOAT" and things got a little out of control. In my opinion, to be the face of any sport, you need to be dominant for a long period of time (maintain #1 for at least a year) and the first "active" player that comes to mind when that sport is brought up.. ie. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali , Babe Ruth, and so on. I'm not saying Rory has to be the greatest of all time to be "The Face of Golf" but unfortunately for Rory, Tiger will be playing for a while and will most likely break a certain record that will make his legend and notoriety grow even more. So he's probably gonna have to win a ton of tournaments and hold onto that #1 for a year or so before most will say he is the "face of golf." although that still might not be enough...unfortunately, cuz I really like him!

I'm not sure what you would call it for men, but Rory may already be the "Darling of Golf"... meaning the young good looking star that everyone pulls for ...and genuinely likes. Like Chris Evert was to Tennis. But like what might happen to Rory, Chris Evert's dominance in the 70's was quickly overshadowed by players like Martina Navratilova in the late 70's/80's and then Stephie Graf...they were just a little better and were on top longer. It will really depend on how this Tiger comeback plays out.

Speaking of Rory and tennis...as I am typing, they just showed Rory on Sports Center hitting the tennis ball around w/ Sharipova at Madison Square Garden...his girlfriend was playing an exhibition and tagged him in wwf style. How ironic is that? Pretty cool for him...he looked like he was having fun with it!

Bingo.

 

I would have to say until he's hung up his clubs, Tiger Woods will be the "face" of golf. There are people out there who have no idea who Jack Nicklaus is and only know who Arnold Palmer is because of the drink. But everyone knows who Tiger Woods is for whatever the reason; his golf accomplishments, the fact that he's black, the fact that he cheated on his wife multiple times, the popular opinion that he's an overall jerk, or the belief that he will never win another Major.

 

However, I think if anyone can overtake Tiger Woods as the "face" of golf, it will be Rory. He's wholesome, he's a gentleman, and he's a damn good golfer. He may never have the profile that Tiger has, I personally think that Tiger Woods is a once-in-a-generation talent, but I think he can be a guy who people will be able to recognize.

 

My dad says it could be Phil Mickelson, but I think it's too late for Mickelson to become the "face" of golf. If he would have won some of those Majors back when he was coming up short to Tiger year after year, then I would think it's possible. 

If I would ask 100 people today if they could name me three golfers, I think perhaps 10 of them would know more than Tiger Woods. But I guess about 90 could name Tiger.

In my opinion, if you talk about the face of a sport, it's not about who is playing the best at the moment (or possibly in the future) but who is the most famous outside of the "inner circle".

Good point. Ask me to name 10 golfers. Fine, no problem. Why, I love golf, I watch golf, I play golf.

 

Now ask me to name 10 football players or basketball players, I'd be stumped.

 

Tiger was America's athlete, not America's golfer, that's why everyone knows who he is.

 

Yes, Rory is the new face of golf, just like Oosthuizen was for a week, just like Kaymer was for a couple of weeks.

Seriously, the guy has been number one for a day, and he just won his third PGA event. Let's not build a new wing in the Hall of Fame just yet.

Of course he has terrific potential, but so does Schwartzel, and Kaymer, and DJ, and even Ricky Bieber. But you have to put up a lot of wins to be the new Tiger, and so far, Rory has just five sanctioned wins in five years as a pro. Luke Donald, who people knocked for not winning enough, had four sanctioned wins in 2011 alone.

We still haven't seen Rory play against what Tiger is shaping up to be. What we did see was Rory beat Tiger by two, at a time when Rory is playing well and Tiger is still putting things together, on a course that Tiger hadn't seen for almost 20 years. Let's see what a healthy Tiger does at Doral, and Bay Hill, and Augusta, courses that he knows well, and where he's won at least three times each. We only have a month to wait for all that.

And let's see whether Rory can hold Tiger off six months from now, when Tiger has his game together, and they are playing in the final group head to head. "Holding off" a guy who has been in the clubhouse for an hour isn't quite the same thing. It's one thing to shoot pars when you're ahead by two and you know the other guy's final score. It's another to be two up when he's playing next to you, and making eagles.

Don't get me wrong --- I like Rory, and I like the way he earned his #1 ranking. But I can say the same about Kaymer, and Westwood, and Donald. None of those guys have played badly, but none of them stayed at #1 for more than a few months. Rory might be better than they are, but he also might have to play against a completely different Tiger than those guys did.

If you like numbers, as I do, here's something to chew on: Rory knocked off Luke Donald because his Honda win raised his WGR average to 9.29, while Donald slid to 8.97. That's great, but Tiger never fell below 11 for ten years. Even during his slump of 2004, when Vijay replaced him as #1, Tiger's average never dropped below 11. And when he was on his game, both before and after 2004, his average was usually over 20.

In other words, Tiger's average ranking is farther ahead of Rory's best, than Rory's best is ahead of my worst. And prior to his knee surgery in 2008, Tiger's worst ranking since 1999 was well ahead of Rory's best, and his average ranking was about twice as good as Rory's best. His best was about three times as good.

So don't worry about Tiger coming all the way back. If he comes half the way back, that's good enough to get him back on top. And if Sunday's round wasn't a fluke, he's going to come more than half the way back.
Edited by brocks - 3/6/12 at 11:19am

 

I agree this is what the PGA wants, it really p!sses me off. They should pick the golfers that are good (winning things) rather than the best clothes model, Rickie in the covered groups every week, no sign of Webb Simpson anywhere.

 

The PGA and the TV companies missed an opportunity when Tiger was on his various breaks. The build up to every tournament was all about when will Tiger be back. Not these are the guys playing really well, look at all the kids coming through.

 

At one stage there were real concerns that Tiger wouldn't be back, mainly due to whether his knee would hold up. Thankfully it looks like it is okay. Tiger is back and the PGA and TV networks can pig back him and a potential rivalry with Rory. I got the impression that there was a lot of heads stuck in sand assuming Tiger would be back and little planning for the worst case. If they had planned for worst they would now have lots more "name players" who they could build up in weeks when Tiger doesn't play or even in weeks when he doesnt contend.

 

 

 

 

 

Same here.  I could rattle off 10 NFL players off the top of my head, because I love and watch football.  10 PGA golfers, no problem, same reason.  10 NBA players, 10 MLB players, 10 MLS players..... grab a drink and a chair, this could be awhile!  I don't follow those sports, so I could care less about knowing any of them.  Of course it's hard NOT to know some of their names; Coby Bryant, Shaq, etc.  But for me that seems to be more about their lives away from their sport is where I have come to know their names.

 

But when you hear the crowd chanting "Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory" as he is walking up the fairway and onto the green, I think that shows where people are looking for the "next" face of golf.
 

 

Apparently not as hard as you thought.

I know Coby Bryant's name for the same reason non-golf fans know Tigers name, scandal

 

 

 

 

Uhm...

Yep. I'm sure non-golf fans had not heard about Tiger until November 2009.

Who is Coby Bryant?
 

 

 

 

This is Coby Bryant.  My neighbor is moving, so he's selling him to me for 50% of what he's worth.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Kobe Bryant.  His wife Vanessa is moving too.  And, once she leaves, Kobe will also be worth 50% of what he was.

 

 

 

LOL, see?!?!  Shows just how much I know about him! 

What!?!?!   So it has nothing to do with all the Nike commercials and other world wide endorsements, or being named ATHLETE OF THE DECADE!?  I'm pretty sure most people know who Tiger Woods is.  The only people that don't know who Tiger Woods is don't know what the sport of Golf is.  "KOBE" Bryant is a very big star and has won 5 NBA championships as part of the most popular team in league history, but he can't even sit at Tiger's lunch table.  That statement was so ridiculous it makes my head hurt.