The Prince Who Was Promised

Trying to find the next Michael Jordan was a fool’s errand.

Harold Minor? Yikes. Isaiah Rider? Nope. Grant Hill? Not quite. Kobe Bryant came close, but because he lacked Michael’s freakish leaping ability and massive hands, was always more of a carbon copy. Damn close, but never quite as sharp as the original.

Well, finding the next Tiger Woods is borderline impossible.

The dominance. The mystique. The marketability. The physique. There was never anyone like him before, and in all likelihood, there will never be another like him in the future. What’s more, because of his multiracial background, he led us to believe that any person from any walk of life could compete at the highest levels of the game if they committed themselves appropriately.

Tiger transcended his sport in ways that no athlete ever has. He was the top-ranked player in the world for almost eleven straight years. He had more commercials than your favorite local car dealership. Everybody from inner-city youths to suburban housewives knew exactly who he was, and more importantly, they all seemed to have a vested interest in him.

So, when all of Woods’ transgressions off the course finally started to derail his game on the course, the PGA spent the next decade-plus trying to find someone to fill the void. Rory McIlory seemed like the best bet for a while there. But, in many ways, he was the Kobe to Tiger’s Jordan – a carbon copy. He wore the Nike swoosh just like Tiger. He trained his body just like Tiger. He was demonstrative just like Tiger. He won a handful of majors early in his career just like Tiger. But he wasn’t Tiger. McIlroy was a reasonable facsimile to be sure, but he wasn’t quite as sharp as the original.

So, we moved on in search of the Next Big Thing.

Rickie Fowler had all the flash and pizzazz, but he didn’t have the game. Brooks Koepka wasn’t nearly consistent enough outside of the majors. Golf fans in general didn’t really like Bryson DeChambeau. We thought we may have found something with Scottie Scheffler, but despite all the winning, has shown he’s not nearly marketable enough to carry the torch. 

And therein lies the problem.

Filling the ‘Tiger Void’ is about so much more than just finding the best golfer. You don’t transcend a sport just by winning; You do it by capturing the imagination of all those at home who are watching. You do it by getting the audience emotionally invested in your failures just as much as your successes. You do it by stepping forward during times of crisis. 

And only one man this decade can confidently say he checks all those boxes. 

Rory. It’s always been Rory.

When LIV Golf threatened the PGA, who stepped up and put prestige over paychecks? Rory. Who became the sport’s sympathetic figure after choking away multiple major championships in his career? Rory. Which active golfer has parlayed his marketability into becoming the highest yearly endorsement earner? Rory. Who just became the first golfer in over twenty years to go back-to-back at Augusta? Rory.

After winning his second consecutive Masters on Sunday, McIlory sent a warning shot at anyone looking to threaten his reign. He said, “It took me 10 years to win my fifth major, and then my sixth one’s come pretty soon after it. I’m not putting a number on it, but I certainly don’t want to stop here.”

The Prince Who Was Promised has finally taken his place on the throne. Don’t expect him to give it up any time soon.