Golf

Rory McIlroy’s Record-Breaking US Open Win Makes Him The Newest New Tiger Woods

He is humble but not too humble. He has a swagger, but not too much swagger. He is golf’s next great ambassador. He is the next Tiger Woods.

If it sounded like a sales pitch, that’s because it was: as Rory McIlroy completed a U.S. Open win that was never really in doubt, NBC’s broadcasters had time for a little mythmaking in a sport that is in desperate need of a really, really big star. There was nothing else to really talk about, so why not?

Rory McIlroy is packageable, and he is good. Like, really good. Did you see that shot on the 10th?

But is he the next Tiger Woods? His win was certainly memorable, and not since Woods in 2000 has a golfer so thoroughly dominated  the U.S. Open field.

But his four round 268 at Congressional also places a ton of pressure on someone who is still only 22: no more trips to bars with friends, no more watching rugby, no more hiding behind inexperience to explain away a major collapse. You’re big time now, kid, whether you like it or not. And even though you’re not really like Tiger Woods (well, in most ways), you’re the next him. Good luck with that.