Rory McIlroy may be hoping to become the second youngest ever World No. 1 if he captures this week’s Honda Classic but he’s light years away from being in the same class as Seve Ballesteros.
In the absence of Luke Donald, McIlroy is out to make the most of his opportunities after falling at the final hurdle in last week’s WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship.
If McIlroy is successful in driving away with victory in Florida he will not only become the youngest official World No. 1 (since April, 1986) but also will be the first Irishman to be crowned World No. 1.
It would mean McIlroy becoming the game’s top ranked player three months shy of his 23rd birthday.
Rory McIlroy floating high in Dubai but he's much to do to get anywhere near the level of Seve Ballesteros.
That would place McIlroy second to Tiger Woods who was aged 21 years and 5 ½ months when he went to No. 1 mid-June 1997.
Donald was all of 33 years and six months old when he beat Lee Westwood in last May’s BMW PGA at Wentworth to claim the No. 1 title.
Westwood was four years older than Donald and aged 37 when he moved to No. 1 in the world on the last day of October, 2010.
Germany’s Martin Kaymer, and the only other player to become No.1 since Woods’ fall down the rankings, was 26 years and some two months old when in February last year he grabbed the game’s top ranking.
The official World Rankings commenced in April, 1986 with Germany’s Bernhard Langer claiming the historic first-ever No. 1 ranking at age 28 and eight months.
The late, great Ballesteros had turned 30 before he enjoyed the honour of World No. 1 in October, 1988.
However had the rankings been in existence in the late 70s and early 80s there’s no denying Ballesteros would have been the undeniable No. 1 given his stunning record.
By the time Seve turned 23 on 9th April, 1980 he had won the 1979 Open Championship, 10 European Tour, three Japan Tour, one PGA Tour and a dozen other tournaments around the globe.
And just four days after turning 23 year on April 13th Seve was fitted with the first of two Augusta National green jackets.
Australia’s Greg Norman, who reigned the world unchallenged for 331 weeks had won five times by the time he was 23.
However McIlroy does find a ‘friend’ in Jack Nicklaus who captured the 1962 U.S. Open at age 22 and by the time he’d reached 23 in January a year later the Golden Bear had two PGA wins and a World Series of Golf title to his credit and that matches McIlroy’s current tally of a U.S. Open title and three other victories.
But was is alarming, and ever since McIlroy captured the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic, is the the fact he’s headed into the final round of a tournament on 24 occasions when either leading or lying within five shots of the lead but only twice since his Dubai breakthrough has McIlroy managed to close out victory.
And that includes last Sunday when he let slip victory in the WGC – Accenture Match-Play Championship.
And with McIlroy nearing his 23rd birthday it’s also worth highlighting the accomplishments of other then 23-years olds.
Woods had won the 1997 Masters and nine other tournaments at age 23 whereas Spain’s Sergio Garcia, and still to win a Major, had enjoyed success in seven events.
Nick Faldo, born also in 1957 and the same year as Seve, also had won four events as McIlroy by age 23 and was still seven years away from the first of six Majors.
Then there is Westwood who at the same age of 23 had just one win to his credit but then by the time he turned 26 he’d won nine times.
Donald was also a slow starter having to wait to age 26 to taste his first pro success at the 2004 Scandinavian Masters.
