Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy must be getting sick of the comparisons between himself and Tiger Woods. Tearing the US Open a new one by taking the crown on 16 under par won’t do much to stop the favourable comparisons. The fact he’s being compared at all should be music to Rory’s ears.
His victory at the Congressional never really looked in doubt after a week during which he took majestic stroke play to a new level. We could of course be talking about his second major victory, as the US Masters earlier this year should have been his. The bottle that he lacked there transformed itself into a whole crate’s worth of premium beer here. As far as the bookies are concerned, the next question will be whether he can take either of the remaining two majors of the year.
The 22-year-old from the town of Holywood famously balls-ed up in last year’s Open Championship after holding a massive lead. Even though that was the case, he still managed a third-placed finish. As for the US PGA, the Northern Irishman achieved the same third place finish on two occasions and he could so easily be on track for world golf’s Grand Slam had his bottle not disappeared during his quest for a green jacket. That will have to wait.
Unlike Woods of whom the expectation even back then was ridiculous, McIlroy will likely be able to keep his feet closer to the ground. Don’t get us wrong, there is a growing school that thinks he could be even greater than Woods.
Woods though can still point to the fact that he earns the most of any US sportsperson and is a massive player as far as the opposite sex is concerned. Give it ten years and Rory will have made it from Holywood to Hollywood and bored himself to sleep by winning too much. Then you have to watch out for the wife taking a three-iron to you.
