MyTURN
by JIM DUCIBELLA
B
y now, you know the news. It’s been
in all of the papers, all over television,
talk radio, especially the Internet and
all of its dark, foreboding corners.
By winning the Masters in April, Jordan
Spieth ushered in a “new era” in golf. The
victory, his first in a major, also catapulted him
to the heart of the game’s next great rivalry.
Spieth versus Rory McIlroy.
If only if it were true. Instead, it’s just
hyperbolic flim-flam.
Take nothing—nothing—away from
Spieth. The 21-year-old Texan plays with
an understated panache. He doesn’t maul
a course into submission, doesn’t send tee
shots into orbit around the moon before
they return to earth. Rather, he engages the
playing field in a battle of wits and grit that
belie his tender years.
He’s pocketed $14 million in a brief career
that includes three PGA Tour wins. He’s
already represented his country in the Ryder
Cup Matches and Presidents Cup play.
He absolutely kills the competition with
kindness, giving thumbs-up when Justin Rose
crafted an amazing shot off muddy, trampled
terrain on No. 7 on Sunday at the Masters,
nearly backing the ball into the hole. In an
interview later, he amended an answer about a
competitor missing putts from something like
“had he only made” to “if only they’d gone in.”
Even with Jordan
Spieth’s triumph at the
Masters, only time will
tell if he will challenge
the game’s best on a
consistent basis.
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As for McIlroy, he’d make the ideal
counterpart in a mano-a-mano scenario. All
of 25 years old, he’s the first European to win
three different majors. He joined Jack Nicklaus
and Tiger Woods as the only players to capture
three majors by the time he’d hit the quartercentury mark.
Even the fact that Spieth is American and
McIlroy European lends an air of international
intrigue and spice.
But any investigation into “great golf
rivalries” reveals precious little human element.
Take Arnold Palmer versus Nicklaus, the
quintessential golf rivalry. Tour events are
where rivalries germinate. Majors are where
they blossom. Palmer won seven majors during
his epic career, but Nicklaus finished second in
only two of them, including the 1964 Masters
that Arnie won by six strokes. Conversely, of
Nicklaus’ 18 major titles, Palmer was thrice
runner-up—once by four, once by nine.
What about Watson-Nicklaus? Watson
never finished second to Nicklaus in a major.
Nicklaus, on the other hand, finished second
to Watson four times, never by more than
two shots. It’s the foreword and maybe a
chapter or two toward greatness, but it all
transpired over a seven-year period. If only
it could have continued.
Woods-Mickelson? Of Tiger’s 14 major
wins, Phil’s finished second just once, at the
2002 U.S. Open. And
Woods began the final
day with a four-shot lead
and finished the day three
in front. Heck, Chris
DiMarco has given Tiger
more of a run for his
money in the majors. He’s
finished second to him
twice, including a playoff
loss in the 2005 Masters.
As for Phil, in the five
majors he’s won, he’s never
had to outduel Tiger.
For all the prodigious
talent these two possess,
they’ve never been in the
ring together. Ali-Frazier,
it ain’t.
Who else you got? Sam
Snead and Ben Hogan?
Score it 1-1. Snead came from three behind
in the 1954 Masters to outlast Hogan in a
playoff. Hogan walloped Snead by six in the
1953 U.S. Open, his largest margin of victory
in a major.
Do we really want to go back to Bobby
Jones and Walter Hagen? We’re not that
desperate to stir up something, are we?
Let’s face it; how many times have we
heard players insist they’re playing against
the course, or themselves? How many players
even refuse to look at the scoreboard during
tournament competition?
As far as Spieth and McIlroy are concerned,
there’s no bounty on either’s head, no bonus
(that we’re aware of) for beating the other
guy. These aren’t the contentious days of
yore. There was a line of players waiting to
congratulate Spieth after his walk off 18 in
Augusta. It’s hard to build enmity for someone
when you are patting him on the back, not
stabbing him in it.
Spieth says McIlroy is “an unbelievably nice
guy” who has something—lots of victories—he
can only dream of. Sure, they’ll see each other
on the game’s four biggest stages. But let’s
give this brew time to ferment. They’ve got
to prove that they have what it takes to vie
for the lead role, year after year, in the States
and overseas.
They had a chance to start ascrappin’
at the WGC Match Play Championship
in early May. And while there’s no shame
in losing to Lee Westwood, Spieth didn’t
exactly cover himself in glory by bowing out
on Friday. McIlroy, meanwhile, captured a
monumental match with Paul Casey and
outlasted the suddenly formidable again Jim
Furyk before carving up Gary Woodland,
4 and 2, in a ho-hum final.
Spieth versus McIlroy might turn out to be
a rivalry for the ages. But, if you are already
marking it down on your scorecard after the
American’s first major victory, even Spieth
suggests you use a pencil.
Columnist Jim Ducibella retired in 2008
after 27 years at The Virginian-Pilot in
Norfolk. A 2010 inductee into the Virginia
Sports Hall of Fame, his second book, King of
Clubs: The Great Golf Marathon of 1938,
is available in bookstores or by ordering online.
TOP: THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT; ROSS KINNAIRD/R&A/GETTY IMAGES
The Next Great Rivalry?
Not So Fast
w w w. v s g a . o r g
5/8/15 11:58 AM