The career intersection of Rory McIlroy, potentially Europe's "greatest player of all time," and Jordan Spieth could "possibly make for some fantastic golf drama in the coming years," according to Gene Frenette of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. It is a "rarity for two players to achieve what McIlroy and Spieth have done so young at the same time." Anybody who "cares about golf" wants Spieth to be the "bankable star everyone thinks he will, or can be for the next 15-20 years." He has the "ingredients for a bright future" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 4/14). In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan writes this "could be the rivalry that defines golf for years." Golf "hasn’t had many lasting rivalries." Jack Nicklaus "encountered a half-dozen suitors without altering his career path," and Tiger Woods "obliterated most of his." Souhan: "Most interesting, Spieth seems to want a rivalry with McIlroy rather than the other way around" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/14). Golf Channel's Frank Nobilo said, “It kind of creates a really nice international rivalry. ... Jordan brings a lot of cachet with a lot of those guys right behind him that he went to college with. He is four years removed from a junior championship. There has to be a bunch of guys jumping at the bit” ("Golf Central," Golf Channel, 4/13).
COMING TO AMERICA: GOLFCHANNEL.com's Ryan Lavner wrote the U.S. "has been yearning for the next great homegrown star, and the wait is over." There have been "plenty of teases over the years," including Hank Kuehne, Charles Howell III, Anthony Kim and Rickie Fowler, but they "all failed to deliver on the marketing hype." With his "record-breaking week at the Masters," Spieth "graduated from being just another talented young American or the Next Big Thing." He is now a "bona-fide All-American superstar, with the résumé to back it up" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/13). ESPN's Matt Barrie said other than Spieth, the "biggest winner this week was American golf." Barrie: "We need a face. We need a star. And above all else, we need an unquestioned No. 1. ... We need someone who can get in the ring with the rest of the world and win. We have that now for the next 15 years." ESPN's Jonathan Coachman added, "American golf could not be in a better state. Spieth, with his Masters win, secures himself as the anchor. And with Tiger on the comeback trail, Phil Mickelson showing he still has game when he wants it, and other Americans like Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka and youngster Justin Thomas, there is an abundance of riches." ESPN.com's Bob Harig: "We now have a young American player who other kids will relate to and idolize, just as many did with Tiger Woods. He's got so much ahead of him, it gives us someone to follow who will be expected to do more great things" (ESPN.com, 4/13). ROLLING STONE's Seth Gruen while there were "glimpses of the old Woods throughout this year's Masters," his struggles "were paramount." After Spieth's performance, people "may begin to care just a little less" about Woods, as they "have a new American to root for" (ROLLINGSTONE.com, 4/13). In Baton Rouge, Scott Rabalais writes Spieth is the "right player at the right time with the right image," and he now "steps into the vacuum left by Woods" (BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE, 4/14).
GROWING THE FAN BASE: Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee said the way Spieth "handles himself resonates with everybody," and that will help bring a "much broader audience to the game of golf than just the golfer." Chamblee: "To whatever extent the game needs to be grown here in the United States, I don't think you could do any better as an example of both how to play and how to handle yourself than Jordan Spieth” (
“Golf Central,” Golf Channel, 4/13). But ESPN’s Bomani Jones said Spieth is the “kind of guy that will make you interested in golf if you were interested in golf already." Jones: "Your mom is not going to care about golf because Jordan Spieth is there" (
"Highly Questionable," ESPN, 4/13). ESPN's J.A. Adande: "He's not going to be the cultural phenomenon that Tiger Woods was, he’s not going to bring more people into the tent. But he's going to be at the top of leaderboards for a long time” (
"Around The Horn," ESPN, 4/13).
SLOW YOUR ROLL: GOLFCHANNEL.com's Joe Posnanski wrote every time a player "puts together a sort-of-staggering performance like Spieth did at this year’s Masters, there’s a hunger to declare him The Next Big Thing." Posnanski: "We go overboard. Golf is a sport vitalized and energized by its stars; when there aren’t players at the top who animate the imagination, the whole sport feels a bit lifeless." The "best bet to fill the Tiger void long has been" McIlroy, a "brilliant young player with a wonderful personality." But even McIlroy "seems to have struggled with it at times as his personal life and various misjudgments have been splayed in stories across the world." Posnanski: "And Spieth? Can he handle how his life is about to change? Beyond that: Does he want -- really want -- the magnificence and responsibility that comes with being the best?" (
GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/13). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes golf "remains eager to re-employ the template" of Woods, a "spectacular game-changer and economic force whose handlers and enablers crafted a divine image which eventually crumbled under its own, self-inflicted unsustainability." Gay: "This should stop. Tiger was Tiger. He was larger than golf. That dynamic is almost surely never going to happen again. ... We're always in a rush to anoint the next and best and greatest, and it's true that new stars can give a lagging sport a shot of energy." But Spieth's celebrity "remodeling doesn't have to be a priority." Gay: "Neither does the absurd speculation about his potential" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/14).
