Two weeks ago, Rory McIlroy replaced Tiger Woods as the title golfer on EA Sports PGA Tour game. With that, McIlroy has surpassed Woods in the public's consciousness as the most marketable golfer in the world.
It's something that people had seen coming, but perhaps the warning signs were there for Woods even earlier. A wonderful profile from the NY Times, features a brilliant story of a nine year old McIlroy sending his hero Tiger Woods a letter warning the then World no.1 that he was coming for him.
Unfortunately, no one can recall the precise wording of that letter, but when asked about it a combination of McIlroy, and his uncle paraphrased the contents as:
I’m coming to get you. This is the beginning. Watch this space.
This was coming from a talented nine year old who had mirrored a lot of Tiger Woods' upbringing. The two had clubs in their hands from the age of two. A three year old McIlroy turned heads with 40 yard drives, and was improving rapidly even at that age. By eight years old, he was regularly shooting 86 on Holywood's par 69 course.
The following year, after claiming the Doral-Publix Junior Golf Classic in Florida, one title that always eluded Woods, McIlroy wrote that prophetic letter to Woods. The year was 1998. Woods had just become the world's no.1 golfer and had one major to his name.
Whether Rory manages to come close to Woods' target of 14 major wins, or his outstanding 26% win percentage of all the tournaments he's entered in his career, remains to be seen.
What is certain though, is that this is McIlroy's golfing empire now. We may not see a McIlroy-Woods match up in August for the Masters as Woods continues to struggle, but all eyes will be on McIlroy as he attempts to join Woods by completing the last leg of his career grand slam.
See Also: Rory McIlroy Is Now Officially The Next Tiger Woods Thanks To EA Sports
See Also: Video: Rory McIlroy On The Benefits Of Becoming A Gym Rat
Photo Credit Matt Browne & Diarmuid Greene / Sportsfile
