PGA Championship...

[CowboyDan]

Thing is, everyone says he's money on the range. And he continues to say that the injury gave him tons of time to work on his short game. But come tourney time he looks horrible off the tee and his short game has been atrocious. What gives? The 6 inches between his head. He's pressing, big time.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Rory was super clutch at the end. Looked like he was gonna choke. He had a one stroke lead at the beginning of the day but dropped 3 behind the leader with only like 6-7 holes to go. Pretty much game over. But what's he do? He eagles to go back behind just one. Then he practically birdies (or comes within an inch) the next 4-5 holes. Doesn't get more clutch than the back 9 on Sunday of a major.

 

[Doc50]

Thing is, everyone says he's money on the range. And he continues to say that the injury gave him tons of time to work on his short game. But come tourney time he looks horrible off the tee and his short game has been atrocious. What gives? The 6 inches between his head. He's pressing, big time.

And his head will never be the same - he's been shamed, and that is incompatible with his narcissism. He may win, but I doubt he'll win majors. The one thing he values so much will likely be beyond his reach, as he has semi-sabotaged his psyche.

Rory can screw his head and game as well, but he's already discovered how a relationship can knock his confidence and focus into a pot bunker. So, he may have learned his lesson early about distractions, and he already has 4 majors by the age of 25.
In the next 10 years, he'll get 40 more chances, and he's already shown that he'll eventually win at Augusta - probably more than once. He's on Tiger's pace, and it would not be surprising at all for Rory to get 6-10 more majors.

 

[CowboyDan]

Again, that's a very bold prediction. Adrian Peterson is closer to Emmitt Smith's records than Rory is to Tiger's. Lots of life happens in 10 years.

 

[viman96]

As good as Rory had been, he is not on Tiger's pace. Not even close really. I think Tiger had 6 majors and way tour wins when he was 25.

 

[Doomsday101]

As good as Rory had been, he is not on Tiger's pace. Not even close really. I think Tiger had 6 majors and way tour wins when he was 25.

Hard to say, only Rory, Woods, Nickalas and Bobby Jones won 4 majors at 25 years of age. Too say Rory is not even close?

 

[honyock]

Hard to say, only Rory, Woods, Nickalas and Bobby Jones won 4 majors at 25 years of age. Too say Rory is not even close?

He's close to Tigers pace at this moment. But after winning #4, Tiger went on to win four of the next seven majors.

He was on an insane pace up through his last major...I think that after he won major #4, he won 10 more over an 8 year span. That's just so hard to do and there is so much that can distract or derail a player along the way.

If I had to make a guess/prediction, I'd guess Rory would top out at 10-12 majors (which would be a great career). I hope he challenges Jack though, that'd be a huge amount of fun to watch.

 

[viman96]

50% less major wins. Not 100% on this but I think Tiger had around 40 tour wins as well. Rory 4 majors and less than 20 tour wins. To me that equals not even close.

 

[Doomsday101]

He's close to Tigers pace at this moment. But after winning #4, Tiger went on to win four of the next seven majors.

He was on an insane pace up through his last major...I think that after he won major #4, he won 10 more over an 8 year span. That's just so hard to do and there is so much that can distract or derail a player along the way.

If I had to make a guess/prediction, I'd guess Rory would top out at 10-12 majors (which would be a great career). I hope he challenges Jack though, that'd be a huge amount of fun to watch.

Tiger was ahead of Jack pace at age 25 and then problems came, so how fast of a start is not the issue. I don't know how many Majors Rory will win over the next 5 years who is to say he will not be ahead of Tiger at that point? Right now Rory is playing the kind of golf that will allow him the chance. I agree it will be hard to do that is what makes the record so special.

 

[Doomsday101]

50% less major wins. Not 100% on this but I think Tiger had around 40 tour wins as well. Rory 4 majors and less than 20 tour wins. To me that equals not even close.

how is 4 vs 6 50% less majors? Would that be 4 vs 8?

 

[honyock]

Tiger was ahead of Jack pace at age 25 and then problems came, so how fast of a start is not the issue. I don't know how many Majors Rory will win over the next 5 years who is to say he will not be ahead of Tiger at that point? Right now Rory is playing the kind of golf that will allow him the chance. I agree it will be hard to do that is what makes the record so special.

Like I said, I'd love to see him keep up this level of golf and eventually challenge the record. I like the guy and he'll be great for golf going forward.

I just don't think he could match Tigers pace over the next few years, for several reasons. But then again Tiger just stopped winning majors at all at age 32. So who knows, Rory could have more staying power than that.

 

[viman96]

Half of 4 is 2 (50%). That is the math you get from me at 5:30 AM

I should have said Rory needs 50% more major wins to match Tiger. Plus basically needs to double his tour wins to be on pace with Tiger.

 

[Doomsday101]

Half of 4 is 2 (50%). That is the math you get from me at 5:30 AM

I should have said Rory needs 50% more major wins to match Tiger. Plus basically needs to double his tour wins to be on pace with Tiger.

at 25 Tiger won 6 and Rory now has 4 and with the Masters being played before Rory hits 26 he would have a chance to have 5 majors vs 6 for Tiger at the same age. I don't know if Rory will surpass Tiger or not it is doable given how Rory is playing. A win at the master give him the career grand slam.

 

[Doc50]

50% less major wins. Not 100% on this but I think Tiger had around 40 tour wins as well. Rory 4 majors and less than 20 tour wins. To me that equals not even close.

Tiger had won 29 tournaments by the end of his 25th year, which of course is amazing. I'm not sure if anyone else will ever have a run like that, especially considering the level of competition.

But as Doomsday pointed out, Rory would be the favorite next year at Augusta, (which would give him 5), and he won't turn 26 until May.

Obviously, this is all conjecture, and we can't anticipate life's variables, but it does appear that Rory's swing and game are meant to last, and so far he's had the kind of dominating start that nobody but Tiger has ever had.

OTOH, Tiger may be done -- his era almost surely is.

 

[viman96]

I could be wrong but I was adding European wins as well for Rory and Tiger. Either way Rory has less than 50% of the wins Tiger does at the same age.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I could be wrong but I was adding European wins as well for Rory and Tiger. Either way Rory has less than 50% of the wins Tiger does at the same age.

You're right. Tiger was clearly better than Rory by this stage in their careers. Not only that, but by this point, Tiger went on a killing spree that we'll never see again in golf. He was untouchable during that streak. Far better than Jack and Arnold in their primes, and far better than Rory up to this point. But, like others have mentioned, it all came to an unexpected stop. Longevity is the key to legacy. Barry in his prime was on another level than Emmitt, but Barry called it quits way too soon. Tiger is probably done, so Rory knows what he needs to surpass him. He's only 25 years old. Mickelson is 44 and is still competing for majors. And Mickelson was never a tenth the player Tiger was. Tiger's records are definitely beatable because he just stopped. Rory has to win one major every other year until he's Mickelson's age to tie Tiger. But golfers' careers are longer than any other sport, so there's no way to guess the future. One thing I will point out though is how the two handle perseverance. Tiger got caught in his lie and never was the same again. Rory went threw a bad break up with the girl he was gonna marry, and it lit a fire up under him. Since then, he's won 4 tournaments and 2 majors, and that was only 2 months ago. It'll be fun to watch how it all plays out.

 

[CowboyDan]

Rory is on top of is game right now...........but it's a looooooooong road to the top of the PGA all time. Great start, and lots of fun to watch. But he's proven to be inconsistent in the past.