As talk about the British Open begins to heat up, Jack Nicklaus, desperate to remain relevant, is here to make sure that we don't get too caught up with young Rory McIlroy. Jack just wants everyone to know that just because he won one major tournament does not mean that he is the new powerhouse golfer on the tour. Once he wins three or four or five tournaments, Jack says, then it is okay for those talks to start.
Alright, I admit that the number of articles that came out after the US Open christening McIlroy as the second coming of Tiger were awfully hasty. Clearly those writers forgot that the young Irishman had just blown a Sunday Masters lead in spectacular fashion merely a month before. But you know what? If those journalists want to sound like idiots, then that is their prerogative.
The last thing that we need is a washed-up golfer desperately trying to fend off any golfer that would threaten his status. This incident by itself would not bother me, but in combination with his decade-long attempt to trivialize Tiger's success, Jack doesn't exactly present himself as a likable character. Rory McIlroy is not the new superpower in golf yet. Any person who even remotely follows golf knows this. They are smart enough to ignore the sports writers who want to take any one moment and glorify it so vociferously that they actually ruin it.
Jack, we don't need you to tell us these things. And it certainly doesn't change anybody's opinion on the situation. Golf fans will believe either he is an anomaly or that he is a young, talented kid who has a long journey ahead of him. The last thing we need is an irrelevant spectator downplaying the accomplishments of current golfers.
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