The US Open champion is now on a pedestal with Jack, Seve and Tiger but family comes first for Rory
The wheels of corporate sponsorship stop grinding for no man, especially not for new major champions, so the rest of Rory McIlroy's life began with a 6.15am flight on Monday from Washington DC to Cape Cod, where he was taking part in an outing for one of the many companies whose logo is emblazoned on his shirt.
There will be a couple more corporate outings later in the week, back on this side of the Atlantic, and on Tuesday there will be a stop in London to record an appearance on Red or Black, a television quiz show fronted by Ant and Dec which will be broadcast later this year. But most importantly of all, there will be the return ? to Belfast, to home, to the family and friends who watched on television on Sunday night as their boy became a man. "I can't wait to see them and celebrate with them," McIlroy said as he cradled the beautiful old US Open trophy which will bear his name for time immemorial.
The anticipation was no doubt mutual and it went far beyond the Northern Irishman's immediate circle. The world wants a piece of Rory McIlroy now.
Unfortunately for the world, it will have to wait. McIlroy is 22. He is polite and gracious and humble ? a model citizen, you might say ? but he is also firm. He knows what he wants and what he wants in the aftermath of victory at the Congressional Country Club is time to let the import of his first major triumph sink in. He wants time to reconnect with his Ulster roots and he wants time to rest and prepare himself for the next challenge.
That adds up to bad news for the organisers of next week's French Open, who are likely to find out on Tuesday that McIlroy plans to withdraw (albeit with the promise he will play in it next year). The beneficiary of this change of plans is the Open at Royal St George's , which will be the stage for the conquering hero to return.
It should be quite a show, if the post-US Open publicity is anything to go by. The manner of McIlroy's victory and the fact that he is a personable young man guaranteed an excitable response but he might not have expected to wake up on Monday morning to discover he is the Second Coming.
It was noticeable over the week how much the American galleries took to McIlroy and the US media followed suit. Thomas Boswell, the Washington Post sports columnist, spoke for many colleagues when he placed McIlroy on the list of "one-named" greats: Jack, Seve, Tiger.
"That's the whole list from the last 50 years of players with prodigious early gifts, monstrous expectations and an early-career triumph that identifies them unequivocally while putting a permanent spotlight around them for the rest of their lives," Boswell wrote. "Woods was 21, the others 22. They are the prodigies around whom the future of the game revolves as soon as they validate their vast potential, as McIlroy has now done beyond any doubt."
Pundits were falling over each other to anoint McIlroy as the "new Tiger Woods". This is heady stuff and, while the urge to make bold statements is understandable, it might be time to inject a little perspective. "I haven't won anything," McIlroy said good-naturedly when it was put to him that Padraig Harrington had named him, and not Woods, as the most serious contender to overtake Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships.
Well, he has won a major title, an achievement that ties him on the one-time list with Orville Moody, Todd Hamilton and Larry Mize. This is not comparing McIlroy with that three-ball of American journeymen who got lucky but it is simply to highlight the absurdity of looking so far into the future.
Winning majors is not easy ? McIlroy just made it look easy for one week in Washington DC. All being well with his health, and assuming the more dependable putting stroke that served him so well at Congressional holds out, he will win more majors. How many? A realistic target would be to match the record of Nick Faldo (who won six) or possibly even Tom Watson (eight).
As for the label of the "new Tiger Woods" ? what about the old Tiger Woods, who may be injured but who will return soon enough, although not at Royal St George's? "What a performance from start to finish. Enjoy it," the former world No1 said in a message to McIlroy.
Full marks for generosity but the note seemed suspiciously truncated. Enjoy it? Surely he meant enjoy it while you can. Those who have followed Woods' life and career know the two things that fuel his appetite are being written off and competition. McIlroy's arrival on the scene as a major champion and heir presumptive now gives him both.
Away from the course, Woods may be forced to cede his place as the first port of call when any multi-national company is seeking to tie its name to golf. His image is too tarnished. McIlroy is the man, at least for those who can afford it. He is tied to several contracts but they will run out over the next year or two. When that happens, he can back up the money truck.
On the course the competition between the best player of the last generation and the best player of the next is likely to be more equal. Only a time machine would enable a match between the Woods of 2000, when he won the US Open at Pebble Beach in dominant fashion, and the McIlroy of 2011 to be played ? a contest the world would most like to see.
There is no need to despair. The battle between McIlroy and Woods over the next few years should be compelling enough.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/20/rory-mcilroy-world-roots
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