There might be some surprise to see McIlroy, a golfer, on this list. However, he is definitely deserving of the recognition. Aside from Tiger Woods, young golfer's don't usually burst onto the scene with this kind of hype. For most golfers it takes a number of years to become stars on tour, and for many it also takes a while before they start winning. And in fact, McIlroy became the first golfer since Woods to win a PGA event before his 21st birthday.
As an amteur, McIlroy was noted for his long distance off the tee - even called a phenom by many of golf's biggest stars. He has drawn more comparisons to Tiger than any other young golfer (think Lebron comparisons to MJ).
2010 was a breakout year for McIlroy on the PGA Tour. He won his first tour event at the Quail Hollow Championships, including a course record 62 in the final round. He followed that up in July at The Open Championship (St. Andrew's) with the lowest ever opening round in the tournament. (We're talking about the oldest tournament in golf!) That score was also another course record for McIlroy. On the 2nd day he got stuck in some terrible weather and posted an 80, but recovered over the weekend to finish in a tie for 3rd overall.
At the PGA he also finished tied for 3rd, after he lipped out a putt on 15 that would have put him in a tie-breaker for the championship. The T3 at the PGA was his third Top 3 finish at a major since turning pro.
Despite all the tour accomplishments in 2010 it was probably his performance at the Ryder Cup that cemented McIlroy's status as the next big thing in golf. He played brilliantly for Team Europe after saying earlier in the year that the event was merely an exhibition and was far down on his list of priorities. Following the Europe win he sang a different tune, being quoted as saying, "this is the best event in golf by far."
He's also a bit of a brash smack talker - a quality normally lost on the European athletes. McIlroy was the one who called out Tiger woods prior to his return to golf, saying that he wasn't the best player on the U.S. team (true), and that anyone on the European team would fancy there chances against Tiger (also true).
The one downside to McIlroy (perhaps due to his new found relationship with his European teammates) is that we don't get to see enough of him on the PGA tour. He plays the majors and some other select events throughout the season, but plays more heavily on the European tour. He and fellow Brit, Lee Westwood, recently pulled out of The Player's Championship, one of the premier events on tour so that they could play another event in Europe. With so many, burgeoning young players coming from Europe - Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, etc. - it'd be a shame to see this become a popular trend. The two tours need to figure out a schedule that allows players from both sides to play all the premier events.
Despite his limited appearances, though, expect to see plenty of McIlroy near the tops of leaderboards throughout the season. He figures to be a factor in any event he plays. That's more than I can say about Tiger at this point.
Perfect.
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