Rory is right up to the Mark
When Mark O’Meara stated, after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, that playing partner Rory McIlroy was better than Tiger Woods was at 19, there were, understandably, a few raised eyebrows. However, statistics now show that the 52 year old American has a point.
The teenager’s maiden European Tour triumph at the Emirates Golf Club was thrilling in the extreme and not only propelled the young man from Northern Ireland to the upper echelons of the Official World Golf Ranking but also gave substance to O’Meara’s claims.
In November last year, McIlroy guaranteed himself a place in the record books when – at age 19 years and 29 weeks – he became the youngest player in history to feature in the top 50 following his runners-up finish in the UBS Hong Kong Open, one year and 12 weeks earlier than Woods achieved that status for the first time in 1996.
Now, thanks to his Dubai Desert Classic success, McIlroy is now in the top 20 of the OWGR for the first time, at age 19 years and 41 weeks, again 16 weeks quicker than the current World Number One.
McIlroy is not the youngest to attain top 20 status – that honour going to Sergio Garcia at 19 years and 38 weeks following his German Masters victory in 1999 – and Woods, of course, has the honour of reaching each of the top 50, the top 20, the top ten and World Number One in the shortest number of professional outings respectively, but, nevertheless, McIlroy’s achievement is something to savour.
So, what was it that O’Meara exactly said then?
“Ball striking wise at 19, he is probably better than Tiger was at 19 – his technique is better I think,” said the former Open and Masters Tournament Champion. “Certainly Tiger has developed his game and swing over the years and made modifications to be able to hit the ball pin high, but Rory is already doing that and he's 19, so he's already a step ahead.
“He shot eight under today and played very solid, but it was a pretty easy eight under to be honest with you. He made it look pretty simple. It was a joy to play with him and he's a tremendous young man. He handles himself extremely well, way above his years in maturity and, to me, that's just as important as the way he plays and his technique. So nothing but bright things ahead for him for sure.
“Granted, he has the notoriety and people have expected a lot out of him, certainly in Europe, and they are going to see what he can do. Obviously he's going to win quite a few tournaments, not only on The European Tour, but in America, too, and there's no reason why he can't win a lot of Major Championships. He's got it.”
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