August 21 — When 20-something European golf star Rory McIlroy called Tiger Woods out the other day, saying he looked forward to beating him in Ryder Cup play, did the golf world ignore it because McIlroy was just popping off or because Woods’ game is so un-Tiger-like that the still top-ranked golfer just isn’t relevant anymore?
McIlroy’s quote that, essentially, no one fears Tiger anymore, made its way around the web and on Twitter, but few paid much attention to his words. Sports Illustrated’s Alan Shipnuck wondered, in a tweet, how he had missed the incendiary barbs, while PGA and Champions Tour player Paul Azinger suggested that South Africa’s Cape Times might have misquoted McIlroy.
Paper Tiger. Here’s what McIlroy reportedly told the publication: “I would love to face him. Unless [Woods’] game rapidly improves in the next month or so, I think anyone in the European team would fancy his chances against him.”
The Tiger of yore would store that little tidbit under his “TW” cap and make the young ‘un pay for it on the course. But, this is not your father’s Tiger Woods, and McIlroy and his ilk are out to prove that their Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie, was right when he said, months ago, that Woods had lost his mystique.
Next Tiger Woods? While golf observers have been touting McIlroy as the next, well, Tiger Woods, for some time, the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland with one PGA Tour win has some work to do before he ascends to such heights. Still, McIlroy finished third in the British Open and PGA Championship, and was brash enough to challenge Woods to a duel in the biennial tourney in Wales in October.
Of course, all that is contingent upon Woods making the team.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has until September 7 to decide if he’ll use a wild-card pick on Woods or someone else who may actually have a game.
Playoffs. In fact, while Woods officially has entered and will likely qualify for The Barclays, next week’s FedEx Cup playoff event, there’s no guarantee he’ll make it to Boston. The Barclays is the first of four playoff tourneys that continue with the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston over Labor Day Weekend and finish with the Tour Championship.
The top 100 players are eligible to move from The Barclays to Boston. Woods was No. 108 on the FedEx Cup points list as of Saturday but could drop lower depending on the outcome of this week’s Wyndham Championship. Woods is not in the Wyndham field.
Team player? As for the Ryder Cup, McIlroy said there was no place on the squad for a golfer who’s play is not up to par, as it were, but that Tiger would be on the team anyway.
“There are a lot of Americans playing better than him at the minute, but it’s always an advantage to have Tiger in your team,” McIlroy said. “I think [Pavin)]will pick him. I don’t think it would go down too well in the States if he wasn’t picked.”
Do it for the ratings. If for nothing other than TV ratings, Pavin should pick Woods, and the two captains should assure a head-to-head shootout between the old man and the kid who wants to knock him off his throne.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out at the Boston Golf Examiner and National Golf Examiner websites.)
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- Tiger Woods – Who Cares
