PGA Tour Searching for the Next Tiger
12 years after his landmark Masters win, Tiger awaits a challenger.
Apr 3, 2009
As the focus of the golf World turns towards Augusta National and the Masters, Tiger Woods remains the prohibitive favorite to claim his 5th Green Jacket. It's hard to believe it's been 12 years since his dominating twelve shot victory at Augusta thrust him to the top of the game, and changed the PGA tour forever. In the years since there have been numerous challengers to Tiger's throne, yet he remains alone at the top of the world.
Phil Mickelson tried, but he couldn't consistently stay at Tiger's level. Neither could Ernie Els. Vijay Singh got close, but his age caught up to him. Sergio Garcia could still get there, but thus far hasn't shown he can win in the clutch. There is hope for the PGA tour however.
Thanks to the globalization of the game there are golfing phenom's coming of age all over the World, and somewhere out there is a young gun who will eventually give Tiger all he can handle.
Here is a look at the 3 most likely candidates:
Anthony Kim, 23 Years Old, United States
Of all the upstarts who have the potential to take down Tiger, Kim is by far the most polished. At just 23 years old Kim has already earned over $6 million on Tour to go along with two PGA victories. The strength of those two wins vaulted him to the Ryder Cup, and made him the first American under 25 to win twice in one season since Tiger.
It was at the Ryder Cup where Kim thrust himself into the spotlight and was a crucial member of the United States upset victory. Kim ignited the pro-US crowd with a dominating 5 &4 victory over Sergio Garcia, in the process staking his claim as the PGA Tour's top prospect.
Mark O'Meara, a two-time Major champion and close friend of Tiger, believes that Kim has the game to challenge his friend. O'Meara told ESPN's Bob Harig "He's as impressive as anybody I've seen besides Tiger. He's go the tools to be pretty special."
Ryo Ishikawa, 17 Years Old, Japan
Ishikawa may be an unknown commodity to casual golf fans, but some of golf's most influential people have taken notice of the 17-year old's game. Like Arnold Palmer for example, who personally invited him to play in last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. When asked about Ishikawa, Palmer told Reuters "I see from what he's done playing golf that his future is very bright, not just in Japan, but around the World."
The members at Augusta National took notice as well, making Ishikawa one of their International invitations to the Masters.
On the Japanese Golf Tour, Isikawa has been a household name since he was 15, when he became the youngest ever winner on tour. Since then he has won twice more, and in doing so climbed into the top 100 of the World Golf Rankings, making him the youngest person to ever do so. A strong showing at the Masters could serve as the perfect coming out party for the teen superstar.
Rory McIlroy, 19 Years Old, Northern Ireland
More so than Kim, Ishikawa, or anyone else for that matter, its McIlroy who has the best chance to dethrone Tiger at the top of the golfing world. While still in his teens, McIlroy has already made his mark on both the European and PGA Tour's, and has risen to 17th in the World Golf Rankings. Among his accomplishments include a 5th place finish at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and a victory on at the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic.
Geoff Ogilvy, who defeated McIlroy at the Match Play Championship told ESPN's Jason Sobel that McIlroy is "the real deal." Ogilvy continued, "Its feasible that he's going to be top 2 or 3 in the World within a year. I mean, he's that good."
The highest praise McIlroy has received however, comes from none other than Tiger himself, who told Kevin Dunleavey of the DC Examiner "Certainly he has talent, we can all see that. He has the composure and all the components to be the best player in the world. It's just a matter of time and experience."
If Tiger is right, then his reign at the top could be in serious jeopardy. And while that's a bad thing for the world's best player, its a great thing for golf fans everywhere.
