By Alex O’Connor

With the monster year that Rory McIlroy had in 2014, the golf world is starting to wonder if a new trend setter has emerged in the industry. McIlroy has won four major championships, including two in the past year and is only twenty-five years old. The phrase “future of golf” has been connected to his name as he has won two majors in the past year and had numerous other top-10 finishes in 2014. Recently, golf legend Colin Montgomerie exalted McIlroy while putting a struggling Tiger Woods down even further. In regards to McIlroy’s current playing, Montogmerie reported to Kicca.com that “Is he going to be able to get back, not just to the levels he was, but better than that? Because that’s where Rory McIlroy’s taken the standard of golf: to one level beyond where Tiger was.” In regards to the potential of McIlroy wining all four majors in a year, “That’s another question on people’s lips within our game. Can he win all four in a year, never mind two.” The level of dominance McIlroy has shown in the last year has been impressive, but a question needs to be risen if the high praise from Montgomerie is warranted in the right ways.

The UK Daily Mail took numerous excerpts from Montgomerie’s interview to shape their article about how McIlroy is on the rise, though editor Chris Cutmore did emphasize Woods’ impressive resume. Cutmore noted the fourteen majors that Woods has won as well as his longest-standing number one record for a large majority of his McIlroy’s career. Once Cutmore acknowledged Woods’ accomplishments, he emphasized Montgomerie’s comments while incorporating McIlroy’s impressive performance over the past few years. While Woods has recently had a change in swing coach and has been hampered by injuries for the past year, media presence has been relatively negative surrounding him. Woods has not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, and played competitively in a limited capacity in 2014. The new reports by The UK Daily Mail as well as on Kicca.com have supplemented the negative media attention around Woods.

In the current state of golf, there may be a changing of power in golf. Tiger Woods has been the face of the gold world for almost fifteen years, but his injuries may be limiting him. Currently, Rory McIlroy has been given the rank of Number one in the world and has no signs of slowing up. Colin Montogmerie’s comments are yet another knock to Tiger Woods and he will need to overcome his troubles in the media as well as on the golf course.