What About Rory McIlroy?

Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas are now amongst the most recognizable names and faces on the PGA Tour.

The media has coined them as the future of the PGA Tour and golf fans are literally sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see if any of these highly talented young players can actually step up and challenge Tiger Woods.

But, there is young player from Northern Ireland that you may not yet have heard of, but, you undoubtedly will in the coming weeks, months and years.

At 19 years old, Rory McIlroy is younger and possibly even better than Garcia, Kim and Villegas.

McIlroy is a true child prodigy, the likes of which have never been seen before in Northern Ireland.

By the age of two, McIlroy was hitting 40-yard drives.

By the age of 13, McIlroy was a scratch handicap. 

By the age of 15, McIlroy had set the course record at Royal Port Rush with a round of 61.

McIlroy’s real claim to fame came at the 2005 British Open where the then 16-year-old shot an opening round 68 which landed him in a tie for third place.

McIlroy finished the Open Championship in a tie for 42nd and won the silver medal for the low amateur of the week.

After graduating high school, McIlroy immediately decided to turn pro rather than following the path of so many other talented young European golfers by attending a big-time American college.

McIlroy’s decision to turn pro was scrutinized by the European press and many European tour pros.

The second McIlroy relinquished his amateur status; the comparisons to Justin Rose began running rampant.

Similar to McIlroy, Rose turned pro shortly after an outstanding performance as an amateur at the British Open.

At the 1998 British Open, the then 17-year-old Rose holed a miraculous shot on the 72nd hole from 40 yards out to finish in a tie for fourth.

Upon turning pro the week after his fourth place finish at the British Open, Rose went on to miss 21 straight cuts on the European Tour.

Rose, now ranked 15th in the world, has obviously turned into an exceptional tour professional.  However, it was clear from the begining that Rose was not quite ready for the pro circuit back in 1998, and many thought McIlroy would follow a very similar path.

McIlroy did indeed get off to a fairly slow start to his professional career.  In 2007 he finished 95th on the European Tour’s Order of Merit.

McIlroy once again got off to a slow start in 2008 before turning it on towards the end of the season with top-10 finishes in four out of his last six events.

McIlroy has carried his late 2008 success into 2009 with top-10 finishes in four out of his first six events, including his first professional victory which came last weekend at the Dubai Dessert Classic.

It took McIlroy just 19 months to win his first event, making him the youngest player since Sergio Garcia to a European Tour event.

The Dubai Dessert Classic is no small time event either; in fact, it was the strongest fielded event thus far in 2009 on the European Tour.

It was only fitting that McIlroy held off a late charge from Justin Rose, the player he had been so often compared to, to win his first professional event by one-stroke.

McIlroy did show a hint of inexperience by squandering a six-stroke lead with bogeys on the 15th, 16th, and 17th before getting up and down from a green-side bunker on the 18th to secure his first victory.

Now, literally overnight, the comparisons between McIlroy and a young Justin Rose have quickly changed course to comparisons between McIlroy and a young Tiger Woods.

Mark O’Meara and Colin Montgomery have both said that they believe McIlroy has a more complete game than Woods had at the age of 19.

Obviously one professional win at the Dubai Dessert Classic does not place McIlroy in even the same stratosphere as 14-time major champion, Tiger Woods.

However, a talent like McIlroy is one that does not come around often and the accomplishments he has experienced at such a young age have not been seen since Woods and Garcia.

Although he may look like he should still be sitting in a high school classroom, McIlroy plays like a seasoned veteran and surely hits the ball a lot further than anyone currently sitting in a high school classroom. 

McIlroy displays a silky smooth swing that looks effortless as he crushes one 300 yard tee shot after another.

McIlroy is currently averaging more than 302 yards off the tee in 2009, and like most of today’s rising stars, he can bring a just about any course to its knees with his incredible length off the tee.  

With his win at the Dubai Dessert Classic, McIlroy has moved up to No. 16 in the world golf rankings.

We will get our first look at how McIlroy stacks up against the likes of Kim and Villegas in the coming weeks and months, where McIlroy is scheduled to attend World Golf Championship events, and the Masters if he can remain within the top-50 in the world golf rankings.

If you have not yet heard about Rory McIlroy, you will in the coming weeks and months.