The one thing that makes sport great is rivalries. Baseball has series like the subway series. Football has divisional games which inferior teams can rise up and beat some of the best teams just because of the familiarity. I have been to an English Football derby and the electricity in the stadium is fantastic! Everyone – even the players – can understand the necessity of having someone against whom you compete. Someone who drives you to play better.
Golf has had its share of great rivalries. Consider Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. These two guys grew up in the same caddie yard and then went on to compete on the PGA Tour. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better story. There was the big three for a while with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player. They were the foundation for the modern golf rivalry. Each golfer to a man says they were constantly watching what the other guys were doing. As Arnold began to fade with age, Tom Watson became a worthy competitor to Jack and provided one of the best mano e mano fights that golf has ever seen in The Duel in the Sun. Jack Nicklaus has always stated that Tom made him a better competitor. Jack won more but Tom would rise up and challenge Jack, and very often beat him.
The one thing missing from Tiger’s period of domination was a rival. Someone who was there who could regularly beat him. Sure Duval had a run, and Vijay Singh temporarily took the top spot from Tiger, but he never had a golfer who was a match for his dominance. Phil Mickelson has had a hall-of-fame career but I would doubt anyone mentions his name in the same sentence as Tiger in terms of his major performances. Really they only battled head to head once, it was at Doral where Tiger eventually won out. There was the U.S. Open at Bethpage in 2002 but anyone who watched the event knew that Tiger was always in control of the event. Tiger has always been without a rival.
I sense that this always has and will in the future taint our view of how truly great Tiger Woods has been. We have no other measuring stick of his own generation to compare him against. No one else sharing the spotlight to show how truly great Tiger was. I get the sense that as time goes on people will make the argument that Tiger competed against mostly nobodies during his reign. We already hear rumblings of this, but I sense over time this noise will get louder. History has a way of changing and without a measuring stick or a South pole or really anyone to compete with Tiger’s dominance, his legacy may be diminished by those who only look at the stats.
Now golf is on the precipice of a fantastic rivalry. Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. One an American golfer born in the heart of the U.S., the other a product of Northern Ireland who cut his teeth on the European Tour. Rory with four majors, Jordan with two. Both are young and both are already seasoned professionals. Golf can now look forward to watching these two heavyweights battle it out for the next few years.
Not only are they from different places, their personalities are different as well. Rory is flashy, dating tennis stars, and acting… well, European. Jordan appears more conservative and reserved, more of a southern gentleman. Golf wise, Rory is long, really long for his size, and unbelievably streaky. When Rory is on top of his game Jordan cannot compete, probably only the 2000 version of Tiger would be able to match Rory running on all cylinders. Jordan is a relatively short hitter but incredibly steady. He is a statistical juggernaut leading proximity to the hole at almost all distances, and having one of the best short games in the game. It really is a story of the tortoise and the hair.
It is a shame that Rory got injured before the British Open this year because it was setting up to be an epic battle between the both of them. Rory will probably not contribute much to the rest of the 2015 season so we will likely need to wait until 2016 to see both of these guys battling it out, but both are likely to push each other to fantastic heights. We as golf fans should be licking our chops.
If Rickie Fowler can shake off his inconsistent performances at the majors he could also make it another big three. 2014 had Rickie playing well in the majors, then the win at the unofficial fifth major, the Players, Rickie was looking good. He was a mess at the U.S. Open and British so he will need to clean up his act and win at least one major before being added to this rivalry.
Tiger was an enormous force in golf. Everyone tuned in to see how he was doing. With his current struggles a rivalry of these two golfers is just what the doctor ordered. Both are young and at the top of their games and should provide us a great show for a number of years. I know as a golf fan I was worried who would fill the golf void while Tiger regains his game, likely it will be more than one guy, maybe even three.
Photo credits: © Pete Karmuno
Good article. Solid point about Tiger’s legacy diminishing over time, it will. I don’t think mainly for the reason indicated, however. I believe that over time the longevity of his career will be compared to others, especially Jack’s, and it won’t measure up. We’re already hearing things like 11 years spanning majors vs. Jack’s 20-something. While I don’t necessarily believe this should be a guiding criterion for greatness, many do.
One point of disagreement: I think Jordan hangs with Rory when Rory is clicking on all cylinders. Because of Jordan’s perceived lack of length, I think he’s underestimated, just a bit. He can go very, very deep, just like Rory. Time will tell but I think these guys are quite equal and will be phenomenal to watch over the next 10 years.
As always you write very well. Thanks.