More Career Majors- Day, Rory, or Spieth?

[skydog]

So I think there was a discussion on here this time last year about who would win more career majors between Spieth and Rory. Given what JD has accomplished over the last twelve months, I'm curious to see who you all think might finish their career with the most majors among this big three?

I think a legitimate case can be made for any of them. Spieth has youth on his side and IMO a game that may be able to carry through well late into a career. Rory has the raw talent and power to rack up a bunch of majors in a hurry, but it's been awhile since we've seen his best stuff and I have some doubt in my mind whether we'll see his dominance again in a major. Day's A game is better than anyone else's now and I could see him stringing together several majors over the next handful of years...but I worry about his health longer-term and whether he'll be able to win later into his career.

I'll toss my vote in for Spieth.

[Rainmaker]

I'll say McIlroy.  To me, he's just got "something" that the others don't.  He always seems to find a way to finish higher than he should.  Last week, for example.  Rounds of 72, 75, 70 . .but on Friday he pulls a 64 out of his arse and ends up T12.  Like Tiger was, he's a strong Sunday player.  He doesn't seem to be affected by going out with a big lead, or coming from behind.  He's not one to "lose" a tournament - you have to beat him. 

I'm not sure about Spieth.  I'm inclined to think he comes back from his Masters loss and starts racking up more majors as early as this year. 

I could be wrong but I see Jason Day as reaching the peak of his career right now.  I don't see him dominating the World Number 1 spot for a really long time.  I don't see him getting more than . .say . . 4 majors . .which is a lot and I think he'll go down as one of the games best and maybe THE best from Australia - but I don't think he'll surpass McIlroy and probably not Speith, either. 

[ChrisP]

My vote is Spieth. Reason is I think his game is setup for more longevity. He's got a more simple swing that can last into his 40s. I think McIlroy is gonna peak at a young age like Tiger. The biggest worry with Day is injuries. He goes through ups and downs based on how healthy he is.

[chspeed]

22 minutes ago, ChrisP said:

He's got a more simple swing that can last into his 40s.

I'm not sure that's a good enough reason. History shows that pros win their majors when they're younger. Here's the data going back to 1960:

• Age 20-25: 24 (11%)

• Age 26-30: 64 (30%)

• Age 31-35: 76 (35%)

• Age 36-40: 34 (16%)

• Age 41-over: 19 (8%)

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/does-age-really-matter-golf-yes-it-does/

However, given how young Speith is, he certainly has more time. Still, I vote Day.

Edited May 16, 2016 by chspeed

[saevel25]

12 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

I'll say McIlroy. 

Did you vote then? There is no votes for McIlroy above.

13 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

To me, he's just got "something" that the others don't.  He always seems to find a way to finish higher than he should. 

I am not seeing this "something". He seems to be struggling a ton. The putter has been the downfall of many of a player. His long game might keep him in the top 15. Unless he putts better then he's not going to be winning many majors. 

I think Jason has more of the "something" than Rory does. Adam Scott was quoted, "You can see there's that calmness inside him, calm confidence. The way he's walking around, he's got that kind of unbeatable look about him."

Right now Day reminds me more of Tiger now than Rory does in terms of just sheer focus and determination on the course. 

If I had to project, 

Jason: 4-9 career total
Rory: 7-10 career total
Spieth: 6-14 career total

I just think Spieth has more upside, being younger and that his game seems to fit all four majors. I think they all get into the 6-10 major range. 

 

[Rainmaker]

Ha . .I didn't realize it was a poll.  Just voted.  McIlroy all the way. Everyone else is playing for second. 

Or maybe I just like that cool blue driver.  I really like that cool blue driver, lol. 

[ChrisP]

52 minutes ago, chspeed said:

I'm not sure that's a good enough reason. History shows that pros win their majors when they're younger. Here's the data going back to 1960:

• Age 20-25: 24 (11%)

• Age 26-30: 64 (30%)

• Age 31-35: 76 (35%)

• Age 36-40: 34 (16%)

• Age 41-over: 19 (8%)

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/does-age-really-matter-golf-yes-it-does/

However, given how young Speith is, he certainly has more time. Still, I vote Day.

He won't have to make a lot of changes to his swing as his body changes with time. A lot of these guys with power swings need to adjust for their age. Tiger had to do it and he's struggled with it. Rory's gonna have to do it. Jordan's got a more simple swing that won't require a lot of adjusting with time. The only worry with Spieth is whether his putting touch will disappear once he gets into his late 30s and 40s. A lot of guys, like Els, Phil, Vijay and Goosen, you've seen lose that part of their game late in their careers.

I think Day will win more if he avoids injury throughout his career. He's the most well-rounded. But he's been hit a lot with injuries so far in his career. He's mostly avoided it since the vertigo episode last summer. If he can stay healthy, he's got a 10-year window here where he can rack up a lot of majors.

 

 

[chspeed]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

I think they all get into the 6-10 major range. 

I think that's unlikely. If you look at the list of players who have more than 5, it's pretty short, only 13 golfers on it. Since 1960, only 7 have done it.

1	United States	Jack Nicklaus	1962–1986	6	4	3	5	18
2	United States	Tiger Woods	1997–2008	4	3	3	4	14
3	United States	Walter Hagen	1914–1929	0	2	4	5	11
4	United States	Ben Hogan	1946–1953	2	4	1	2	9
4	South Africa	Gary Player	1959–1978	3	1	3	2	9
6	United States	Tom Watson	1975–1983	2	1	5	0	8
7	United States	Gene Sarazen	1922–1935	1	2	1	3	7
7	United States	Arnold Palmer	1958–1964	4	1	2	0	7
7	United States	Sam Snead	1942–1954	3	0	1	3	7
7	United States	Bobby Jones	1923–1930	0	4	3	0	7
7	Jersey	Harry Vardon	1896–1914	0	1	6	0	7
12	United States	Lee Trevino	1968–1984	0	2	2	2	6
12	England	Nick Faldo	1987–1996	3	0	3	0	6

[newtogolf]

I went with Spieth, his age is an advantage, hopefully he just continues to get better.  

[skydog]

I think Spieth and Rory both get to the 6-10+ major range (Rory is only 2 away from that)...to me, Day is the wildcard. If he can manage to have a relatively healthy stretch for the next 8-10 years, then there's no reason he can't get to that territory, but that is a somewhat sizable IF IMO.

Edited May 16, 2016 by skydog

[No Mulligans]

I voted Day.  But, he's already having recurring back problems...

[boogielicious]

I'm not sure. I like them all and all of them have shown a stretch of dominance. Rory got derailed by playing soccer. Day has had back and vertigo issues. Spieth ran himself into the ground by playing too many tournaments last year and early this year. Tough choice.

I vote it will be a three way tie at 8 majors each.

[jkelley9]

I voted Spieth. Primarily because I believe Rory is setting himself up to hurt himself - and Jordan has a more simple swing than either of them that I believe will last longer. He's also younger. Jason does also have a back issue lingering I believe.

I see Spieth winning 1 tournament this year, not a major. But I believe he will be in contention T3+ for the major following that win and then from there the sky's the limit (not really, I don't think he's the next Tiger)

[allenc]

Although I am on the bandwagon thinking Day is the best golfer out there right now he's not my pick by a long shot.  Rory already has 3 more majors at the same age and I can't believe he's even close to three majors better than Rory.

So the only match is between Rory and Jordan since Jordan still has 5 years to win just 2 and even the score.  I'm still going with Rory and his 2 major lead because a major is just hard to win and who know what the future will bring.  Also I feel Rory's length gives him a long term edge.  Jordan is more likely to mess up his swing chasing more distance than Rory is likely to mess up his putting stroke trying to improve that.

[Golfingdad]

Since it's not yet listed, for those of us who don't have it memorized:

Rory McIlroy has 4 majors and just turned 27.

Jason Day has 1 major and is 28 1/2 years old.

Jordan Spieth has 2 majors and is a couple of months shy of 23.

I vote McIlroy.

[bplewis24]

3 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

I'll say McIlroy.  To me, he's just got "something" that the others don't.  He always seems to find a way to finish higher than he should.  Last week, for example.  Rounds of 72, 75, 70 . .but on Friday he pulls a 64 out of his arse and ends up T12.  Like Tiger was, he's a strong Sunday player.  He doesn't seem to be affected by going out with a big lead, or coming from behind.  He's not one to "lose" a tournament - you have to beat him. 

Not that I disagree with your pick, but your description of Rory sounds a lot more like Phil than a comparison to Tiger.  Tiger, from what I can gather, was a strong Sunday player in that he could hold on to virtually any lead, and avoid making huge mistakes in a sport where having a Sunday lead in a major is about as much pressure as there is in all of sports.  That sounds a lot more like Spieth to me (Masters notwithstanding).  

[billchao]

Too close to say. I'm voting Spieth simply because he has time in his favor. Plus, he seems to do well at Augusta National and that alone could be worth a few more major victories (like Phil).

FWIW I don't think any of them will reach double digits.

[pganapathy]

I voted Rory purely because he is the streakiest of the three (particularly because of his putting) and is most likely to be able to improve the putting and win majors.  Both the others have much smaller scope for improvement.  Also, I think Rory has shown the most mental strength of the three so far.  I think all of them will get between 5 and 10 majors, and unless one of them goes on a crazy streak, I can't see them getting into double digits