Woods and McIlroy show golf exactly what is missing
It is hard to quantify golf’s mini renaissance in recent weeks. There are some signposts, like the record number of spectators crammed around Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, or the 600,000 Americans who tuned in to NBC’s coverage of the opening round, up 52 per cent on last year. But the wider impact is less tangible: the pub conversations, the glimpses in the media, the swell of punters at the range.
There is certainly a surge of something, and at the centre of it all is Tiger Woods. The nostalgic sight of the 42-year-old competing and beating some of the best golfers in the world is exactly what brought the crowds to Bay Hill. Chants of “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” could be heard erupting from various pockets of the
golf course as Woods, wearing his Sunday red, sustained a thrilling challenge up until a wild drive on the 16th.
The galleries were also treated to another resurgent star, Rory McIlroy. As Woods faded, they were entertained by McIlroy clinching his first tournament since September 2016 with a stunning final-round 64, his driver monstrous, his irons pinpoint, his putter accounting for every undulation in its meticulous calculations. Afterwards McIlroy described it as the “perfect round”.
It all fed into a special atmosphere: McIlroy talked enthusiastically about “feeling the buzz” while the man who finished a couple of strokes back, Bryson DeChambeau, revelled in Tigermania. “Oh it was amazing,” the American said afterwards. “I told my caddie on the 11th fairway, ‘Man, Tiger’s doing it!’ I was incredibly happy for him.”
This is an opportunity for golf, a moment outside the events to catch the eye of more than only the discerning club-going enthusiast, but the kind of casual observer who glances at the Masters leaderboard on moving day and vaguely remembers the Miracle at Medinah. Even now, Woods has an extraordinary way of enrapturing even the most impassive passer-by, and in his fist-pumping pomp, McIlroy can too.
With their resurgence, the duo have inadvertently emphasised what has been missing from the top of the game recently. While Woods and McIlroy move the needle, the world No1 Dustin Johnson, for example, barely registers.
On paper, the laid-back South Carolinian should command far more attention than he does. Johnson has been at the pinnacle of the sport for 57 weeks, the sixth-longest streak in history, building success on an entertaining power-game. He allegedly has a colourful and controversial personal life, with tales that both Johnson and the sport would prefer buried in the deepest darkest bunker – the sort that around another player might have created some kind of maverick persona. Not Johnson. He is one of the more uncomplicated characters in the clubhouse; the American sportswriter Rick Reilly once wrote that Johnson is “so dense, light bends around him”. The monotonous voice and expressionless features are not a facade – he just isn’t a very engaging man. He has no obligation to entertain, of course, especially when he’s not holding a golf club, but it explains why he struggles to resonate with those curious onlookers who might never have held one, and never will.
The brilliant young talents of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth will go on to be considered greats of their generation, but likewise they do not seem to transcend the sport quite yet either, and so the return to form of McIlroy and Woods is a timely stimulus. The Masters – for which McIlroy is the new favourite,
with Woods close behind – is a couple of weeks away, the Open returns to Carnoustie in July, before September’s Ryder Cup. This mini renaissance could yet be the catalyst for a golden year of golf.