Ishikawa, McIlroy preview golf's future

CHARLOTTE – Tiger Woods used to say that he was driven to work hard because he understood the day would come when a player would arrive to take what was his.

In telling the story a few years ago, he even nominated that golfer's age as 12.

Turns out Woods may not have had as much time as he thought.

Maybe the kid's just three days short of his 21st birthday?

Or maybe he's 19 and lives in Japan?

The spiritual symmetry of this weekend in golf was inescapable.

Woods, his private life and golf game both in disarray, missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship.

On Sunday, Rory McIlroy roared like a young Tiger, obliterating the course record at one of the most exacting tests in golf with a breathtaking 10-under round of 62.

Unlike many tour pros happy to cash a check, this kid never looked like he was playing for second place prize money as he won his first title in the United States and only the second of his young career.

It was a genuine Arthur-and-Excalibur moment for the 20-year-old Northern Irishman.

He finished with six straight threes on his scorecard, an unfathomable achievement given the cauldron that is Quail Hollow's home stretch.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa, still 18, crossed golf's mythical barrier, shooting 58 to win The Crowns tournament in Japan.

"He goes and shoots 58 to win and I shoot 62," said the amiable McIlroy, "It looks good for the future."

CBS announcer David Feherty, who like McIlroy is from Northern Ireland, said he "tried to be impartial but I'm jumping up and down like a freakin' leprechaun."

"You're supposed to soil yourself coming down the stretch here but he played with these big freakin' testicles and kept making birdies," he said. "It does remind you of somebody."

To add to the symmetry, McIlroy became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Woods in his rookie year of 1996.

His play was just as jaw-dropping.

Like the young Tiger, he was as fearless as he was flawless, shooting 16 under on the weekend.

"You won't see another round that good all year," said Lee Westwood, who stayed back to watch his friend finish.

With two major champions, Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera, breathing down his neck, McIlroy -- who'd started the day four shots off the lead -- shot a 6-under 30 coming home.

The highlights were many, though the 352 yard drive which split the 15th fairway, followed by a five iron from 206 yards to the uphill green which stopped five feet away, was hard to top.

Remarkably, he'd made eagle with three holes to play on Friday just to make the cut on the number.

"Most important shot of the year," McIlroy said of the 4 iron he hit to a few feet on the par five, "If I don't make eagle there, I'm practicing at Ponte Vedra this weekend. That could have been the turning point in my season."

McIlroy's caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald, played down the inevitable comparisons with Woods, whom he called "the greatest player I've ever seen."

"But this is huge, there's no doubt about it," he said.

Fitzgerald, who has been with McIlroy for two years, said his man's greatest asset was his level-headedness. He didn't think the breakthrough win would lead to a hangover.

"It doesn't affect him, it really doesn't," he said, "I'm sure he feels (pressure), but I don't sense it from him."

Mickelson thought that if he'd shot 68, it would've been enough. And it would've, if it hadn't been for McIlroy.

"You just never expect something like 62," he said, "[That] is one of the best rounds I've seen in a long, long time.

"It was very impressive. He's an impressive player. He's also a wonderful person, so I'm happy for him."

Mickelson thought he could still catch McIlroy but realized that his goose was cooked after McIlroy's eagle on the 15th.

"Then he birdies 16 and 18, finished off with such class," Mickelson said. "He's a young player, but he's got the game of a veteran. This guy has got all the shots."

McIlroy was still walking on air after the standing ovation the crowd gave him as he arrived on the last green. Then he brought the house down by sinking a 43-footer.

"I didn't feel a 62 was coming, but I felt as if my game was definitely getting a lot better," McIlroy said, "The 66 yesterday was probably the worst I could have shot. I gave myself so many chances. And today I just carried on from there."

McIlroy carefully avoided comparisons with Woods and preferred to defer to more credentialed members of Generation Next, such as Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim, who both have multiple wins.

"I've still got a long way to go," he said. "I'm just looking forward to getting the next win."

As for Woods, he said he spoke "on behalf of all the early 20-somethings out here that Tiger was the guy that we all looked up to ... because he set the benchmark so high."

"We want to achieve that," McIlroy said, "Even if we don't quite get to that level, it's still pretty good."

Feherty harbored no doubts that Sunday's triumph would be merely the first of many.

"He'll be a star for as long as he wants."