It’s wrong to be labelling new U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy with the tag he will be bigger than Jack Nicklaus of Tiger Woods.
That’s the view of the Scottish pair of Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie with many Major Champions going overboard in putting unnecessary weight on the shoulders of the 22-year old Holywood golfing starlet.
Far too early to label Rory McIlroy next Nicklaus or Woods. (Photo - USGA).
Lawrie, who is the last Brit to win the Open Championship, is completely surprised with the reaction of his fellow Major Champions to McIlroy’s eight-shot Congressional success.
“It was very, very surprising that so many top players started coming out with Tiger Woods comparisons,” said Lawrie during last week’s BMW International Open in Munich.
“You’ve got to remember that A he is only 22 and B to win 18 Majors as Jack Nicklaus is an unbelievable to try to even match.
“I would never have come out with those comments.
“I am sure that Rory may win more than one Major but the comments from others who have won Majors were very strange and surprising.”
Lawrie was eight years older than McIlroy when he came from 10 shots back heading the last day and win in a play-off at Carnoustie.
He became the first Scot since Tommy Armour won the 1931 Open Championship also at Carnoustie to win The Open.
Life changed instantly for Lawrie but handled the transition to Major Champion surperbly.
“When you win a Major you struggle with your expectations yourself and not those of other people,” he added.
“I never every felt under pressure from anyone else but myself because you feel as though you should all the time.
“So if you are capable of winning a Major you should be capable of winning normal tournaments more regularly.
“Rory’s a hell of a talent as it’s going to be exciting times for him as he will have four or five years now where it’s just going to be fantastic for him.
“But I’m just surprised how many top players jumped straight in with the ‘I think he will get past Nicklaus record’”.
Monty had been at Congressional calling play for SKY Sports after having failed to qualified weeks earlier at Walton Heath.
And while delighted to see his Ryder Cup winning player win a first Major, Monty’s also amazed at comparisons with Nicklaus and Woods.
“I was delighted to be at the U.S. Open commentating and you just run out of superlatives eventually, and you just say it was an extraordinary performance,” said the 1997 Congressional U.S. Open runner-up.
“It’s the best performance we’ve seen in the Majors since Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open in 2000.
“People are saying Rory’s the next Tiger. Well, it’s a little too early to be going down that path.
“Rory’s got to do that half-a-dozen times before we start talking in the same terms at Tiger Woods, and I am sure Rory would agree.
“What those players are doing by saying he’ll be then next Tiger Woods, only puts pressure on Rory.
“So what does he do for an encore after winning a U.S. Open by eight shots? People will be expecting him to win The Open by 10 shots.
“But let’s just hang on a minute! If he does win by 10 shots that will be fantastic but let’s not put too much pressure on him on the kid as he is only 22.
“So in fairness he is a very mature 22-year old and to bounce back from Augusta the way he did was very impressive.
“Also, out of the eight rounds of Major golf he’s played this year, he’s dominated seven of them.
“That’s amazing and that is ‘Tigeresk’ but let’s just see if he can continue in ‘Tigeresk’ mode.
“It’s fantastic for the game that young players like Rory and Martin (Kaymer) are winning Majors as it was for Formula One when Michael Schumacher retired and he gave everyone a chance.
“So it’s the same with Tiger Woods that the door is open right now and people like Rory and Martin are beginning to walk through.
“And it’s great that it is Europeans who are doing that.”
