Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
IGNORED

Rory McIlroy: 'better than Tiger Woods'


Note: This thread is 6248 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

Posted
I'm not sure on what basis you can say Rory is better than Tiger was at that age. Around that age Tiger had racked up some pretty good stats ( 3 straight Jrs and 3 straight US amateurs), and I believe was in college at 19. As soon as Tiger turned pro in '96 (not yet 21) he started winning. Tiger won twice his first year out as a pro with only 8 starts (he played his first professional event in Sept. '96), then won his first major the following April.

I didnt say it. Mark O'Meara did. I was simply correcting the people who took the quote out of context

  • Replies 75
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted
I've been watching and regarding McIlroy since Carnoustie in 07. I've read tons of articles on what a special talent he is...

but I'm sorry.

This is the most bonehead golf claim I've heard to date. Nobody in competative golf is better than Tiger. Hands down.

/thread

Posted
I've been watching and regarding McIlroy since Carnoustie in 07. I've read tons of articles on what a special talent he is...

Don't think anyone said/will say that...read the quote by O'Meara.

WEAPONS:
Taylormade R9 10.5 L Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum stiff 65g
Taylormade R9 15 NU YS+6 stiff 65g
Taylormade R9 19 NU YS+6 stiff 65g
Taylormade Tour Preferred 4-PW KBS Tour X-Stiff Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 51Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 55Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 59Yes! Tracy II putterTitleist...


Posted
McIlroy is a great prospect, and I think will be a multiple winner all around the world. Whether he is the next Tiger, who knows? One important difference between Rory and Kim, for example, is that although both are extremely confident, Rory is much more measured in what he says. He knows he is in learning mode right now and has a long way to go, but he has the time, patience and talent to get there. He has sensible management and good support from players like Darren Clarke.

The Dubai Desert Classic should not be underestimated as an event. It always gets a good field and generally is won by a leading player. Not too many choppers win there.

Oh, and Mark It Nearer did not say Rory was better than Eldrick. He said his ball striking was better than TW at the same age. Big difference, and Mark, TW and Rory all know the difference.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/7858684.stm

----------------------------------
909D3 10.5 Matrix Code 6
909F2 15.5 and 18.5 Whiteboard
585H Ozik Altus
MP68 4-P, KBS ZTP 52. 56, 60 KBS DASS Luke DonaldHome club: http://www.bearwoodlakes.co.uk/hm/hm.aspx


Posted
The thing is, I think were really starting to see the era of young guys who were raised on golf shortly after Tiger entered the spotlight. So many more junior golfers have come up and this is right about the time (13-14 years since Tiger came on) were going to see all the new golf prodigies. Going to be a good time.

Posted
one win and they want to crown the guy the next big thing. boy people and media are too quick with that. he is not the next tiger woods. he is the first rory mcilroy. i seem to remember them saying this about jb holmes where he won the fbr in for the first time. also said this about justin rose too at birkdale in 1998.

Posted
Havent we seen many of potential "superstars" just losing it over time?

You are so right. How many people were labeled the "next Jack Nicklaus" only to never achieve anywhere near what Jack did: Tom Weiskopf, Hal Sutton, etc.?

Mitch Pezdek------Dash Aficionado and Legend in My Own Mind


Posted
tha kid can play but we all know that tiger is the best that ever walked the planet

Chris Nunes,17 yrs old

In My Bag:
Woods:Nike Sasquatch Tour Model (Driver), Nike Sumo 3 wood
Irons: Callaway X-Forged (Project X 6.0)Wedge: Callaway C Grind 58 degree,Titleist Volkey 54 degree (oil can)Putter Cleveland Classic 2 or Scotty Cameron Santa Fe teryllium "Everyday you miss practicing it...


  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
'McIlroy will be number one - Els'

Ernie Els has backed Rory McIlroy to become world number one after the Northern Ireland teenager made the WGC Accenture Match Play quarter-finals.
The 19-year-old from Holywood is the centre of attention in Arizona following Tiger Woods' early exit. McIlroy beat South Africa's Tim Clark 4&3 on Friday to set up a last-eight clash with Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
"I think that you're probably looking at the next number one in the world with him," said Ernie Els.
The South African, who plays Stewart Cink in Saturday's quarter-finals, added: "He's going to be a major factor in world golf. He's got all the tools. He's got a lot going for him."
McIlroy, making his professional debut in the United States, has remained calm despite the attention: " I still have got a long way to go, and my main goal is to try to get into the top 10 in the world and then if I can do that I'll try and get to number two and then Tiger comes back fit and strong. You've just got to go out there and play golf. Just try and make birdies and try and shoot good scores and the rest will take care of itself."

Ogilvy, the WGC Accenture winner in 2006 and runner-up in 2007, tees off against McIlroy at 1420 GMT on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
"He's obviously a great player," said Ogilvy. "I've been hearing all the stories and seen him hit it. He hits it great, makes a lot of putts if he does as well as he does. So I'm sure I'm going to have my work cut out, and it will be fun to play with him."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/7916275.stm


Don't shoot the messenger...
TaylorMade R9 460 9.5°
TaylorMade R9 13°
TaylorMade RAC TP MB 3-PW
TaylorMade RAC TP 54°.10 / 58°.10
Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2

Posted
Its way too early to tell with Rory, but at Rory's age Tiger was missing cuts at every PGA event he entered. I believe he missed the cut in his first seven events and it took him about four years before he got a top 20.

Posted
What I noticed on the Accenture Match Play is that he's also a great putter. How good remains to see, but unlike Villegas he putted well all the tournament. I have no doubt he'll be in the top of professional golf for a long time. Whether he can do what Tiger has done remains to be seen, but as I've said before, it takes more then a good swing to accomplish what Tiger has.

Comparing statistics doesn't tell us anything, it's how Rory works on his game, both mental and physical that will decide how successfull he will be. Tiger had his father, maybe the best tutor anyone ever had. He gave Tiger the foundations that he today is working on, especially the mental game of really being into what you are doing.

Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
Its way too early to tell with Rory, but at Rory's age Tiger was missing cuts at every PGA event he entered. I believe he missed the cut in his first seven events and it took him about four years before he got a top 20.

Unless I am misunderstanding something, this is waaaaaaaay off. Tiger turned pro when he was 20, McIlroy will turn 20 this April. He won the fifth event he entered. Then he won his seventh start as a pro. Of his first eight starts, 2 wins, 5 top 5's, and made all eight cuts.

Rory did have a great amateur career like Tiger did. He has won early at a big event. IMO, we better save the 'better than Tiger' talk until he wins a few majors and wins one of them by blowing out the field by 10+ shots.

I will judge my rounds much more by the quality of my best shots than the acceptability of my worse ones.


Posted
Rory will be a Top 5 player in the world within the next 18 months and will be one to watch at the Masters in May. ...he is provisionally 10th in the world.

To say he will be the better than Tiger Woods is probably an accurate statement but not in the next 3 years. I don't think anyone will ever be as dominant as Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus (that's another thread). He will make it to Number 1 in his career but it might take 5 or 6 years to achieve this due to the fact that TW is so far ahead in the points based world rankings and that as long as TW keeps winning events or having top 5 finishes he will continue to consolidate his ranking.

Posted
I agree with you that comparison is too early, but my data is accurate.

It is true that Tiger turned pro in August of 1995 when he was almost 21, but he had already plyed in about a dozen PGA tourmnements over the previous four seasons and missed the cut in almost all of them.

Posted
I agree with you that comparison is too early, but my data is accurate.

1996 actually. I don't think you can count what Tiger did in tour events as an amateur in his pro stats. Just being able to play in pro tournaments as an amateur is accomplishment enough. Plus, quite a few of them were majors from winning the U.S. Am.

I will judge my rounds much more by the quality of my best shots than the acceptability of my worse ones.


Posted
I think at approximately the same age, McIkroy is a bit better putter than Tiger was. However, Tiger, through force of will power turned himself into a better putter over time. I watched him change as a putter -- it was as if he willed himself to become a good putter as he changed his "straight back and push it open stroke." As we go forward, who knows. I keep expecting the great Tiger to eventually have some level of putting problem -- we shall see. Not every key putt will continue to fall -- it never has. Tiger's short game is the best right now (or from before knee surgery), he is no longer super long, or the most accurate of guys on tour. He is likely the strongest competitor. McIlroy shows naturally good feel for putting, and is obviously very long, but as we all know, this does not mean that putting skill will stay with you for a career. It is all guess work at this stage.

RC

 


Posted
Sounds like Geoff Ogilvy is on the bandwagon too after beating McIlroy yesterday:
"He is by far the best young player I've ever played with - he hits the ball well, chips and putts well and his demeanour is fantastic. All the hype is fair because he's the real deal."

The real deal is this: from now on, folks will be looking at where Woods and McIlroy are on the leaderboards.
TaylorMade R9 460 9.5°
TaylorMade R9 13°
TaylorMade RAC TP MB 3-PW
TaylorMade RAC TP 54°.10 / 58°.10
Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2

Note: This thread is 6248 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    Carl's Place
    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).
  • Posts

    • Day 9 - (9 Jun 26) - Weekly nine hole session with my good friend, I played again from one set of tees up from my usual (set up the bag 4h, 6i-Pw, Gw, Lw) to focus more on iron play in the approaches (esp longer ones on the 4's and 5's).  Used the hybrid for tee shots only, had to play irons in from there on....made for a great work on course management and dealing with iron shots I normally don't see.  Key focus was on keeping ball in play, playing to distances that set up for either GiR or nGiR's.  Played a split nine (5 on the front, 4 on the back - the turn works nicely as both nines turn and run parallel coming in - easy to jump from 5 to 15 (especially when the course is not busy)).  Worked with my friend on his course management skills - offering thoughts as a "caddie" might and helping him to confidently choose and execute the shot he was seeing. 
    • Interesting that you post this - was playing today with my good friend in our typical weekly nine-hole round.  He has a lot of chatter in his mind, most of the time, yet today was much improved.  Yes, he went through a number of swing thoughts (like the ones highlighted), but then you could almost hear the switch click off - it was like when I shot the distance, and said its "X yards", he confidently said "this club should cover that..." and made his shot most of which were nicely rewarded.   Came away shooting one of his best nine-hole rounds ever.  For me, I do have thoughts  - not in terms of negotion but rather evaluation.  What is the wind doing?  Is there trouble - left, right, middle - not that I am a great fader or drawer of the ball?  Where is the better landing spot/zone?  What is my target window and what in the distance helps me see it?  I wonder if the "negotiation" is more about not understanding "typical distance for a given club (carry and roll)" and more about remembering how that flushed 5i that went and went or how the 4i that can get there with but not reliably or accurately.  
    • God I hate when golf can’t give me n+1 day of success. Drives me up the wall when my body is, FU! Im like, ok let’s check the vid. Yep too much turn, arms getting behind me. Ok, I work on that. Get the feel back for a shorter swing. Confirm with video. Then going back to arms down stuff.  Arms down, nope it’s hands out towards the ball. Oh, you get arms down better. Guess what, you don’t get to rotate and you hit 6 inches behind the ball. Yay!  Maybe I should have walked off the range and not wasted my time. I wish there was a body alert system when it’s going to a SOB for the day. 😭 OK rant over, I’ll be back at this tomorrow.   
    • Wordle 1,816 4/6* 🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ ⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • I mean there has to be some thought. For eg., something like 'soft knees and wrists' at set up and maybe a dynamic 'left arm to chin' as a trigger to start DS. I have these one or two anchor thoughts and have served me well. In fact, my wildest swings are the one where I have no thoughts or if I forget to walk thru my anchor thoughts. In contrast my best rounds are where I am consistent with the anchor thoughts.    OTOH, if I am running my entire half hour lesson (hypothetical) with some pro that I had last Saturday or whatever before every swing then I'm probably in trouble before I even get over the ball.      
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.