Opinion & Analysis

Spieth to supplant McIlroy as the next great young golfer?

Published

13 years ago

Sep 25, 2013

Relative to a lifetime, a year is not very long. But for two of golf’s most promising young players, it might as well be a miniature career for each of them, going in decidedly opposite directions.

At the beginning of 2013, Rory McIlroy was “the man” in the game of golf. He had recently won the 2012 PGA Championship, his second major, each won by eight shots. He had ascended to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking and had landed an enormous equipment sponsorship with Nike. He was (and still is) dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. In other words, he seemed likely to take the vice grip on the golf world over from Tiger Woods.

At the beginning of 2013, Jordan Spieth seemed to have a great deal of sizzle without an abundance of substance to back it up. Sure, he finished in the top 20 of a PGA Tour event, the HP Byron Nelson Championship, in 2010 at the age of 16. But his professional career had not gotten off to an auspicious start as the young Texan had failed to make it past the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, relegating him to golf’s minor leagues, plus any sponsors exemptions or Monday qualifiers he could get into.

If you had been told back then that between Spieth and McIlroy, only one of them would make the TOUR Championship, there is no doubt as to which player you would have chosen.

And you would have been wrong. Such is golf, which at some point humbles everyone who plays it.

McIlroy, in the wake of all the hype and his multi-multi-million dollar sponsorship payday, struggled mightily throughout 2013, notching five top-10 but no wins in 16 PGA Tour starts. His closest brush with victory came at the Valero Texas Open, and he never factored into any of the majors, despite a tie for eighth at the PGA Championship. He endured considerable criticism after a mid-round withdrawal from the Honda Classic in March, citing tooth pain and raising thousands of golf fans’ eyebrows to new heights of skepticism.

He also bowed out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs early, failing to get into the top 30 in time to make the TOUR Championship. As relieved as he must be that the season is over, it will be interesting to see whether he breaks out of the gates in 2013-2014, because some of his behavior—increased sponsor-related activity as well as public interactions with Wozniacki—has led detractors to wonder whether his zeal to be the best player in the game has waned.

Spieth’s journey in 2013 could not have been more different. Starting with only a sliver of status in professional golf in the form of a few PGA Tour event sponsors’ exemptions, he made the most of his opportunities, racking up top-10 finishes at the Puerto Rico Open and Tampa Bay Championship, building momentum to carry him through a year of nine top-10s and three top-three finishes. One of those top-threes was a spectacular playoff victory over David Hearn and Zach Johnson at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Illinois, which he got into by holing a bunker shot on the final hole of regulation.

Spieth’s win was the first on Tour by a teenager since 1931. The enormous confidence from that victory sent Spieth on a tear through the end of the Tour schedule that included five consecutive top-20 finishes to cap a terrific rookie season. He surged to a tie for second place in the TOUR Championship with a final-round 64 at East Lake Golf Club. Now, before taking on the golf world as a full PGA Tour member, Spieth will represent the United States in the Presidents Cup in two weeks.

That weekend will be somewhat instructive in building what is perhaps golf’s next great rivalry. Spieth will receive some high-pressure seasoning that should help him if (and when) he makes the American squad for the 2014 Ryder Cup. Gleneagles, then, could serve as the backdrop for the first of multiple big-stage showdowns between the Texan and the Ulsterman. Here’s hoping the game is in such good hands.

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Tim Gavrich

Tim grew up outside of Hartford, Conn., playing most of his formative golf at Hop Meadow Country Club in the town of Simsbury. He played golf for four years at Washington & Lee University (Division-III) and now lives in Pawleys Island, S.C., and works in nearby Myrtle Beach in advertising. He's not too bad on Bermuda greens, for a Yankee. A lifelong golf addict, he cares about all facets of the game of golf, from equipment to course architecture to PGA Tour news to his own streaky short game.

10 Comments

?!?!?!?!

Jan 26, 2014 at 3:12 pm

All of the HighEnd club companies can build a player a custom set to EXACT specs of previous set, Look at all the Tour Issue iron sets, they are forged in completely different houses by high-end clubmakers like the guys at Miura or Kyoei.

Reply Report comment
Nick

Sep 26, 2013 at 2:14 pm

Both are studs IMO. We could easily be talking next year about how Rory is the new David Duval or how Speith is the new McIlroy or how both are the next Tiger. Such is golf.

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- ?!?!?!?!
  
  Jan 26, 2014 at 3:16 pm
  
  OH COME ON!!!! How is rory like Duval lol. Both of his majors were won by 8 stroke margins one on an unsually soft course and one on a brutal course. He will win multiple majors in the future. Duval was like 800th in the world when he made his run at 2009. Dont be silly.
  
  Reply Report comment
Nevin

Sep 25, 2013 at 5:37 pm

Wait and see, I bet Rory starts playing better. After you have won two majors, it would be very uncommon to completely lose your game forever but stranger things have happened. Spieth looks like he is going to be a great one too, but no one can really tell for sure.

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naflack

Sep 25, 2013 at 2:34 pm

spieth will be a great golfer and rory will be fine once he figures out how much downtime he needs to be fully focused on the course.
either way having these guys around next 15+ years…pretty sweet!

Reply Report comment
Deaus7

Sep 25, 2013 at 1:23 pm

Well I think we need to give Rory a little more time to get back in the groove. Spieth has 1 tour win, rory has 2 MAJORs that were both won by 8 Strokes. I see Jordan as a highly talented kid but come on, dont compare him to a guy who has won multiple majors and WILL win multiple more, Maybe even surpass Faldo one day.

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Taylor

Sep 25, 2013 at 11:19 am

If he sticks with Titleist he’ll be the next big thing, hope he doesn’t sell out

Reply Report comment
- gunmetal
  
  Sep 27, 2013 at 10:46 pm
  
  Because a reputable company offers to set you and your posterity up for life for the next 5 generations and you accept the offer you’re a sell out? Maybe a tad bit judgemental wouldn’t you say?
  
  Love Spieth! Love McIlroy!
  
  Reply Report comment
- Matt
  
  Sep 28, 2013 at 1:08 am
  
  It’s not the equipment, yes Titleist makes good equipment but so does Nike, Taylormade, Cleveland, Ping, Mizuno, Adams etc. I guarantee you he can play just as good with any of them.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Josh
  
  Sep 29, 2013 at 8:00 pm
  
  Like Titleist wasn’t going to pay him a ridiculous amount of money?? The only reason this got so much hype is because he switched!! If he would have stayed it still would have made a crazy pay check, but the contract would have been kept in house!!! He went with Nike cause he liked what they were selling!!
  
  Reply Report comment

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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

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