Golf is Ready for the Next Great Rivalry

These guys ain’t getting any younger…

In golf’s great history, rivalries have always boosted interest in the sport by tapping into our fundamental human emotions. We are often quick to pick sides, cheering our hero and booing the opponent because we connect with our hero in some way. For me, in the mainly one-sided battle between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, I’ve always been a “Phil Guy.” Not that I am necessarily a Tiger hater, but I connect more with Phil’s attitude, his style, and the fact that he plays left-handed, just like me. For many people, seeing a pro play the same way as they do is reason enough to cheer for them. Oftentimes, however, our reasons for supporting one player over another run much deeper. We see a bit of ourselves in them, and in some way we believe that if they win, then so do we.

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Golf, and American golf in particular, has had its share of great rivalries, some poised at the perfect moment in time to catapult the sport into a new stratosphere of popularity. The problem is, since Tiger and Phil are both moving steadily towards Champions Tour status, the question becomes, “Well…what’s next?”

According to this Golf Digest article, most of golf’s great individual rivalries are from the distant past…

There is no doubt that, among the current crop of top golf professionals, there are some truly stellar players, both in America and across the globe, but there is not ONE truly definable rivalry brewing between any two particular players. When I hear the words “golf” and “rivalry” in the same sentence today, here’s what comes to mind…

The USA v. Europe – Ryder Cup

While there is no doubt that this has become a galvanizing golf rivalry, the distinction must be made between supporting your team and supporting a particular player.

The People v. Patrick Reed

There has been fuel added to this fire for years. You can point to his past at The University of Georgia and at Augusta State University, or his relationship with his parents, or his behavior on the course, or a host of other transgressions…but that all seems to fade away on Sunday in the Ryder Cup when you know he’s a lock for a point, even if you don’t want to admit it… Also, the man has a Green Jacket (#justsayin’)

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Sergio Garcia v. Any Golf Course

This is as sad as it is funny… The “He’s just passionate” excuse ran out long ago.

These are just few examples of the sport’s current top “rivalries.”

I know many golf fans do not want to hear this inconvenient truth, but Tiger Woods is now 44 years old. Jack Nicklaus, arguably the greatest golfer of all time, won his last major championship when he was 46. As the old saying goes, “Time waits for no man.” For the future of the sport, we need to be ready for life after Tiger. 

It seems like every generation in golf’s history has produced some great rivalry to define the sport in that era. In the “Roaring Twenties” it was Bobby Jones v. Walter Hagen, which in turn after 1930 became Gene Sarazen v. Walter Hagen. Fast forward a few years, and you now have Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, and Sam Snead. Jack Nicklaus was so great, he had two different memorable rivalries, first with Arnold Palmer, and later with Tom Watson. As the new millennium dawned, all eyes were fixed on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Now, however, as a new decade begins, the question remains…”Well, what’s next?”

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