New King of the PGA Castle

By: Nate Craft (@nathancraft2)

Imagine this scenario: It is the final round of the PGA Championship. After three rounds of electrifying golf the leader goes into Sunday with a score of 13 under par leading the next player by one stroke. The confident leader shows up to the course with his normal final round attire of all Nike products. The media is positive the leader is going to take the trophy home at the end of the day, even though current golf greats like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and Rickie Fowler are in the hunt to make a move and win the Championship. Yet when it’s all said and done, the leader wows the gallery with a thrilling round, drains his final putt and seals the deal with a fist pump to celebrate his 3 under score for the round and 16 under score for the tournament, clinching the Wanamaker Trophy.

Normally, you would probably assume the winner of this fictional yet non-fictional scenario is the best golfer ever the great golfer, Tiger Woods. However, since Tiger Woods’ life literally blew up in his face in 2009, with the revelation that Tiger was not only putting golf balls in many holes but was putting well you know…, Tiger’s very public infidelity scandal, divorce, and subsequent therapeutic break from golf opened the door for the field to replace him at the top of the game. One player has done so, Rory McIlroy-the protagonist of the above scenario.

So how has the 25 year old from Ireland become the most beloved player of the PGA, dethrowning Tiger and taking the keys to the PGA castle? It is simple, Tiger is done.

You see, Tiger was always our boy. ESPN thought he was a god, advertisers loved him, and kids everywhere wanted to be him. Little did we know Tiger was just as mortal as any human.

Logically, it was Tiger’s flaws and how he dealt with them that have caused people to redefine him in a drastically different, less iconic fashion. Not only have Tiger’s flaws impacted his public image, but they seem to have impacted his ability to play the game that originally elevated him to that iconic status.

Prior to 2009, Tiger had won 14 majors. Since then he has won none. After his scandal he didn’t win a tournament until 2012, and his 38 year old body has seemingly been injured all the time.

Tiger has not adopted his game to his old body. He still tries to absolutely kill the ball but shanks it, he misses the killer puts he used to always make, and he refuses to play the links which he clearly needs to do. If you are into betting I would put down some big money that the U.S. Ryder Cup 64 year old Captain, Tom Watson, can probably outplay Tiger at this point like he did at the British Open this year.

Since Tiger's win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he played in 7 PGA events, finished in the top 25 once, withdrew twice and got cut twice. Tiger is yesteryear, he is not fun to watch anymore, he disrespects the media more than ever, and like I said: it always seems like he has a new injury. The 2014 PGA Championship’s Sunday final round of golf is the greatest indication that golf is moving on.

Going into the first round, there was chatter that Tiger Woods had decided to play in the tournament after suffering an injury at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. But the real chatter was about how Rory McIlroy, who had already won the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational and The Open Championship in 2014, was prime to continue his success. That chatter turned into reality after McIlroy’s unbelievable final round and tournament win.

As the current leader of the PGA rankings, McIlroy is continuing to make the case that he is new the figure for golf. He is racking up many of the endorsements and advertising gigs Tiger once was the face of. McIlroy is even becoming the new king of Nike with his a) better style than Tiger, b) better sense of humor for commercials and most importantly: c) this reported $200 million deal he inked with the sports company. The rising superstar even has up-ed his personal life chatter after deciding to break off his engagement from Caroline Wozniacki after sending out the wedding invites.

Whether you think that was a power move to call off the wedding or it made McIlroy come across as a jerk, it was absolutely the best move for him personally as his golf game drastically made a 180 and he started to play at the high level the galleries came to expect. This relationship and abrupt split is a similar situation in comparison to Tiger but had a complete opposite outcome. Tiger’s divorce subsequently killed his golf game, Rory’s split greatly improved his.

As this golf season continues to roll on, it is certain that the talk of the town will be how the new King of the Castle will fair while Tiger continues to be a footnote. McIlroy on the other hand is here to provide the entertainment golf needs. McIlroy just clinched his 4th Major; don’t be surprised when he takes home a few more trophies, endorsements, and the hearts of golf fans.

Nate Craft is a contributor for The Sports ReKap which is hosted by Nick Kapetan and DJ Vogt. The show will begin airing again in September on MarquetteWire.org.

Be sure to follow Nate on Twitter: @nathancraft2

Follow Us On Twitter For The Latest Insight On The Happenings In The Sporting World:

Nick- @KapN93

DJ- @DvJ14

Like Us On Facebook

Be sure to visit Sobelman's this summer, the official sponsor of The Sports ReKap, and try their array of mouthwatering burgers. Visit their website: http://www.milwaukeesbestburgers.com/

It is still over 8 months away but please start considering joining a Relay For Life team at your school next year. For more information on how to join a team at Marquette please contact Kristen Krawczyk at kristen.krawczyk@marquette.edu

The Sports ReKap is happy to announce the additions of Nate Craft, Kevin Saad, Michael Felish, Chris Linskens, Matt Barbato, Kevin Clancy, and Brendan Garrity as full-time contributors to the show. If you want to be a part of the show this year email Nick at nicholas.kapetan@marquette.edu.