If you watched the PGA Championship on Sunday, there is no need to explain the thrilling finish golf fans everywhere got to experience as play came down the stretch at Valhalla. With three of the tour's most popular players battling to the end, pressed by expiring daylight, executing nasty-good shots with jaw-dropping drama and excitement, it was simply great golf to watch. You had one of the game's long-time fan favorites and a savvy vet Phil Mickelson, who doesn't know the meaning of conservative golf. You had young, budding star Rickie Fowler, who brings color to the game (literally, check out his outfits) and who had finished top 5 in all three previous majors to that point. And then you had red-hot Rory Mcllroy, fresh off a win at the British Open, oozing with confidence as he stared down tee shots and playing so well that you probably would have spontaneously combusted should you got near him. Yes, we have some stars on the rise, and they can captivate an audience.
Case in point, this PGA Championship was the highest rated in 5 years (source: pga.com), since a time when -- you guessed it -- Tiger Woods was battling atop the leaderboard to win yet another major championship. Ironically he didn't, as he wound up losing to the one-hit wonder Y.E. Yang. Granted, I'm a fan of golf and probably would have been following the finish at Valhalla regardless of who was in contention. But that finish, it was one for the books. And while Rory and Rickie may not have quite that polarizing draw that Tiger always brings to the game, I think they come close.
Rickie goes about it with a quiet confidence and bright clothing. But he represents a new generation that isn't afraid to push the style envelope a little bit on the golf course. After all, we need to embrace a new generation of golfers in order to the grow the game. He is one of those players who goes about his business in seemingly all the right ways, with a little bit of flash here and there. It seems like you just can't help but root for the guy. Then you add in the fact that he's 5'9'' and 150 lbs. dripping wet, and it gives little guys hope that they can still hit the long ball even without the 6'2" frame to create that ridiculous leverage through the golf swing. And let's not forget -- he's an American!
Then you have Rory, a humble young Irishman, who may wear his confidence on his sleeve a bit more than Rickie, but probably deservedly so. He already has four major championships to his name, and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Is the plot thick enough for you yet? Because you could create a narrative of Rickie being cast in Rory's shadow as he tries to start capturing major championships of his own, and maybe even a scenario in which he finally capitalizes and beats Rory down the stretch. It's even more exciting when you add in that they are close in age, with Rory being 25 and Rickie being a year older at 26 -- oh, and the fact that they hail from two different countries.
For all that Tiger vs. Phil used to be, I think this can be just as good. We even have an added narrative of these two facing each other every other year in the Ryder Cup. I don't know about you, but coming off that finish at Valhalla, with these two playing that well, it makes me that much more excited to see what the 2014 Ryder Cup has in store. Coming off a wrenching loss to the Europeans on home soil at Chicago's Medinah Country Club, Rickie leads the U.S. team over to golf's homeland as they look to avenge their defeat at Gleneagles Hotel. Who knows, maybe this is where Rickie counters and leads the U.S. to an upset victory over the Rory-lead Europeans.
So tell me, do you think golf's popularity is on the rise?
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