Rory calls out Tiger!

[Tiger Spuds]

Tigers first major came at the uspga

??? ya sure about that?

[Acropo]

I People will now compare the two and maybe even call it a rivalry, not bad for a guy who at this point is nothing but hype.

This would be the Rory McIlroy who won his first PGA event before he turned 21? Who arrived on the PGA Tour with a major-league win already under his belt, from the Middle East? (And before you shoot off, check the entry list to see who he beat).

This is the same Rory Micilroy who had such a good record in the Majors in 2009 and was inches away from the PGA playoff, having been the only one with the cojones to take on the 18th green? Is this the Rory McIlroy who is still about a year younger than Tiger was when he won his first Major - and is still younger than Tiger was when he won his first PGA Tour events? Maybe Rory will fulfil his promise - I certainly hope so - or maybe he will fall short. Time alone will tell - but compare and contrast the 'Hello World' launch of Tiger Woods in 1996 and maybe consider whether 'nothing but hype' is the right phrase...

[whatwhatwhat]

It said if rory wins he would beat tiger to his first major by 24 hours and I was stupid enough to assume they where born on the same day.....lol.....sorry, compared to the late 90s the talent on the pga has risen DRAMATICALLY, in the late 90s the old generation was dieing off and new players had yet to come in, els garcia duval......who else? Guys on tour now play to win(the top thirty anyway) back then everyone was intimated by tiger, now the guys relish playing him, rory already has three t3 in majors, I dont see how you cant compare them

[senorchipotle]

It said if rory wins he would beat tiger to his first major by 24 hours and I was stupid enough to assume they where born on the same day.....lol.....sorry, compared to the late 90s the talent on the pga has risen DRAMATICALLY, in the late 90s the old generation was dieing off and new players had yet to come in, els garcia duval......who else? Guys on tour now play to win(the top thirty anyway) back then everyone was intimated by tiger, now the guys relish playing him, rory already has three t3 in majors, I dont see how you cant compare them

dude, sorry but rory isn't even close to being to a point where he's winning majors by double digits. did you read anything i wrote? tiger at the same age was a full stroke per round less than rory. i guess you could compare the two, but it wouldn't be much of a comparison. fact is, you can't really compare tiger's numbers to anybody, cause there's never been anybody who's that good. ok, so rory might have a better iron swing. but ultimately that means little to nothing.

[golfro]

This would be the Rory McIlroy who won his first PGA event before he turned 21? Who arrived on the PGA Tour with a major-league win already under his belt, from the Middle East? (And before you shoot off, check the entry list to see who he beat).

he hasn't won a major yet, and hes just won ONE PGA event...so at this point he is nothing but HYPE... 2009 Masters - T20, US Open - T10, Open Champ - T47, PGA Champ - T3 .... i wouldn't say its the best record in the majors other than maybe PGA Championship. 2010 Masters - Cut, US Open - Cut, Open Champ - T3, PGA Champ - T3.... ok a little better but not really. Sorry but he's still got a lot of playing to do to live up to the HYPE that is Rory McIlroy. Kid hasn't shown me anything that makes me believe he'll be the second coming. To me he's just another player in a new generation of players. A lot more impressive resumes than McIlroy in my opinion.

[Tiger Spuds]

No one will ever win Majors by double digits again though.Rory is playing in an era where most golfers are more evenly matched.When Tiger came along he blew everyone away with his distance, and now everyone hits it long, so there's no way Rory could possibly have made the same immediate impact.I don't think Rory is that far away from where Tiger was at that age.Tiger's putting was undoubtedly better even back then, but that's something Rory can improve on.Even guys like Butch Harmon have said Rory's a better ball striker than Tiger was at that age, and Rory's driving is obviously better by a country mile.For me they're fairly evenly matched, although even at 21 Tiger had that unbelievably determination to win and that focus that Rory probably lacks at times.

[golfro]

No one will ever win Majors by double digits again though.Rory is playing in an era where most golfers are more evenly matched.When Tiger came along he blew everyone away with his distance, and now everyone hits it long, so there's no way Rory could possibly have made the same immediate impact.I don't think Rory is that far away from where Tiger was at that age.Tiger's putting was undoubtedly better even back then, but that's something Rory can improve on.Even guys like Butch Harmon have said Rory's a better ball striker than Tiger was at that age, and Rory's driving is obviously better by a country mile.For me they're fairly evenly matched, although even at 21 Tiger had that unbelievably determination to win and that focus that Rory probably lacks at times.

and yet, those are two GIANT reasons why Rory isn't quite there yet.

Mental determination is what made Tiger stick out so much above the rest of the crowd during that era. Sure it was his driving and ball striking that caught people's attention but his mental strength is what pushed him to be beyond anything anyone has seen. Oh and putting? yeah...thats kind of a big importance when it comes to golf. To say "just those two things he'll need to improve and he'll be just as good, if not better than Tiger" is undermining every single other player on the PGA Tour and the game of golf. Let's not simplify it like that.

[Tiger Spuds]

To say "just those two things he'll need to improve and he'll be just as good, if not better than Tiger" is undermining every single other player on the PGA Tour and the game of golf. Let's not simplify it like that.

That

is all that's standing between him and a Tiger - like career though.If he was as good a putter as Tiger and had the same focus and will to win, he'd have all he needs to be truly great.Because he has more natural talent than 95% of the players on Tour.

[golfro]

That

but you realize that could be said about just about ANYONE on tour.

"oh boy, if Phil Mickelson could JUST drive the ball a little better, he could have more majors than Tiger!" "oh boy, if name_your_pro could putt a little better, than he'd beat Nicklaus" You see what I'm getting at here? and "natural talent" can be argued. With natural talent, I expect Rory to contend a bit more...which he hasn't... did you even look at the last comment I made to you comparing AK and RM? I'll say it again, just a year or so ago, AK was what RM is now. Everyone talked about how he had so much "natural talent" and he'd be the new Tiger...oh if he just had a little more mental determination... Sorry but "natural talent" is just a word my mom uses to make her son feel better. It means nothing without proven results.

[Tiger Spuds]

but you realize that could be said about just about ANYONE on tour.

Yeah, but those guys have had their chance and failed.Rory is young and so far has traced a similar career path to Tiger.If he wins a Major next year he'll be tracing a career path

very similar to Woods.There are some people here are writing off his chances of being as good as Woods because of perceived flaws.I'm just pointing out that in some aspects he's ahead of where Woods was at 21, and why comparisons to the initial impact Woods made on Tour don't really apply because it was a different era.I don't personally think he'll do quite as well as Tiger has.I think maybe 8 or 9 Major wins is achievable for him, but we'll have to wait and see.I'm not gonna write him off when he's barely begun though.

[bruce]

I wouldn't really say that Rory called Tiger out, i think he just said i would like to play him now as he his playing very bad.I think this was said jokingly.
More or less saying i wouldn't play him when he is on form.

[senorchipotle]

No one will ever win Majors by double digits again though.Rory is playing in an era where most golfers are more evenly matched.When Tiger came along he blew everyone away with his distance, and now everyone hits it long, so there's no way Rory could possibly have made the same immediate impact.I don't think Rory is that far away from where Tiger was at that age.Tiger's putting was undoubtedly better even back then, but that's something Rory can improve on.Even guys like Butch Harmon have said Rory's a better ball striker than Tiger was at that age, and Rory's driving is obviously better by a country mile.For me they're fairly evenly matched, although even at 21 Tiger had that unbelievably determination to win and that focus that Rory probably lacks at times.

tiger winning by double digits may have been a factor in the master's, but not the case at all in the u.s. open. it was putting, putting, putting. who cares about ball striking? it doesn't matter. seriously. there's no one pro who is head and shoulders above any other when it comes to purity of strike. you take the best ball striker and the worst on tour, and there's really not much difference. but, you take the best and worst putter, and short game, and that's what separates the tigers and phils and ernies from the rest.

i'm going to have to disagree with you about winning majors by double digits as well. it will happen again. i think tiger will win another two or so by double digits. like i said before, it's all about the short game and putting. now, i understand you want your kinsman to become one of the best ever, but please be objective and realistic.

[Varsity_Golf]

Who is this "Woods" of which you speak? Was he good once?

GO RORY!!!!!

Varsity

[Tiger Spuds]

There is literally no chance of that ever happening again.Both of his double digit wins came early in his career when he was swinging better, and when there was less competition for him in general.Tour pro's have had a lot of catching up to do on Tiger, and many have, especially the newer generation.So, while many will never be as good as Tiger at his best, the gap between them and Tiger is a lot smaller than it was back then. And as far as being realistic goes, I did say I didn't think Rory would have a career anything like Tiger's.But I don't think it's unreasonable to think he has the potential to be a multiple Major winner.He's probably the most talented youngster to come along since Tiger, so why not give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

[golfro]

again, what exactly are you basing this off of? Is it just personal opinion? I think Rory is pretty on par with a lot of the youngers on tour right now...and he is definitely a great player but again...what are you basing this off of? Natural Talent from what you see? Like seniorchipotle said, lets be objective about this.

[Tiger Spuds]

again, what exactly are you basing this off of? Is it just personal opinion? I think Rory is pretty on par with a lot of the youngers on tour right now...and he is definitely a great player but again...what are you basing this off of? Natural Talent from what you see? Like seniorchipotle said, lets be objective about this.

How many 21 year old's on tour have won on one of the most difficult courses on Tour (Quail Hollow,

20 years of age at the time) with a 62 ?Or won the Dubai Desert classic against a strong field at 19 years of age ?Not to mention his 4 top 10's in the 8 Majors he's played as a professional so far in his career.Yeah.. not many, so lets be objective about this.

[golfro]

How many 21 year old's on tour have won on one of the most difficult courses on Tour (Quail Hollow,

2 wins out of how many events he's been cut and not contended in? Its indicative of a good player at his age but nothing to rave about. His performance during the majors, I will say were great, but his overall tour play has been streaky in my opinion.

to say he's going to be the next BIG player on tour is a stretch and a bit early to say so. I'm not holding my breath for Rory for another season or two.

[Tiger Spuds]

2 wins out of how many events he's been cut and not contended in? Its indicative of a good player at his age but nothing to rave about. His performance during the majors, I will say were great, but his overall tour play has been streaky in my opinion.

Sure, he missed 4 cuts.Two were early on in the season, while he was still trying to find his feet during his first season with the PGA.He's basically still a kid afterall.But 1 win and 4 top 10's, I think he's been exceptional for such a young guy in his first season on the PGA tour.I fancy him to win two or three times next year.But we'll have to wait and see!