Rory McIlroy is a winner

Rory McIlroy is a winner. Tiger used to have that kind of aura. Will McIlroy become omnipresent in our lives? If he keeps on winning big tournaments and maintaining a squeaky clean image, the answer is surely a resounding yes.

Make no mistake, McIlroy, 22, can become the newest star in the sports and endorsement world. We’ll find that his biggest asset, putting it bluntly, is that he isn’t Tiger Woods. Remember Tiger Woods? McIlroy projects a joyousness that the intense, robotic Woods seldom could. The more Woods won the big tournaments and racked up all of that money, the more aloof he became. The business of sports can be a cold world sometimes. Woods was the darling of Madison Avenue for well over a decade. I’ve always figured that if Woods had continued to win the Grand Slam tournaments of golf, people would be more inclined to accept him, flaws and all.

It is impossible not to enjoy the "Rory McIlroy story". McIlroy clearly is not a "one hit wonder." Now come the comparisons to a young Tiger Woods. Tiger never looked relaxed even in victory and he always seem to attacking the golf course. McIlroy seems to actually enjoy the stroll.

So with all of this, will McIlroy's fame possibly surpass Tiger with the fans and corporations in corporate America? McIlroy is not an American.

Golfing legends, to fans in this country, are names such as Jones, Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, Watson, and now Mickelson and Woods. In the 1960's one of the nicest, classiest and most succesful players on the tour was South Africa's Gary Player. History will remember him as a better player than Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Americans like Americans. Coroporate America likes American athletes.