LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Anyone could see Rory McIlroy had the gifts to be the next big thing in golf. His victory in the PGA Championship was more about grit.
That might be more impressive than some of the numbers associated with his latest major. McIlroy has won his four majors at a combined 62-under par. The only other players in the last century to win four majors 25 or younger were Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones. It had been six years since anyone won two straight majors (Padraig Harrington) or three straight tournaments (Woods).
"It's beginning to look a little Tigeresque, I supposed," Graeme McDowell said. "I said to the boys at The Open I didn't think we were going to see the new Tiger era just yet. I'm not eating my words, but I'm certainly starting to chew on them right now."
The comparisons with Woods are becoming inevitable. Even though the circumstances were slightly different, McIlroy had his own Valhalla moment. The last two PGA Championships at Valhalla were all about guts.
Fourteen years ago, Woods was on the verge of going three shots down with three holes to play when a mixture of determination and good fortune turned everything around. Woods made a 12-foot par putt and Bob May missed a 4-footer for birdie. Woods caught him two holes later with a birdie set up by a 335-yard drive on a hole where he couldn't afford to miss. He forced a playoff with a 6-foot birdie on the last hole that Woods still calls the most important putt he ever made.
