Different Strokes: McIlroy set to win virtual PGA Tour

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  • Going up: Huge endorsement deals with EA Sports and Nike have made McIlroy golf's poster boy.

    Different Strokes is back with a satirical look at the week’s golfing events. In this week’s instalment Rory McIlroy becomes the poster boy of the gaming world, Swedish golf authorities flex their disciplinary muscles and some alligators spice up a ladies day round.

    Rory the cover star, but game’s success depends on fortunes of the chasing pack

     As the old Chinese proverb goes, ‘You haven’t really made it in this life, until they stick your name on a video game.

    We are almost certain that is an actual proverb (even though, bizarrely, it sounds like someone literally made it up in 10 seconds), and on Monday Rory McIlroy finally officially made it, as he was revealed as the new cover star of the latest EA Sports PGA Tour golf game.

    After much brainstorming the parties concerned came up with the perfect title for a video game about the PGA Tour that is headlined by Rory McIlroy and made by EA Sports: ‘EA Sports Rory McIlroy PGA Tour’.

     That’s why they pay the creatives the big bucks.

    McIlroy replaces Tiger Woods on the cover, of course, the American having previously been the face off EA Sports’ popular offering since 1999. 

    In recent years, however, Woods has been slowly marginalized as his own star power has waned due to issues both on and off the course; for a few years he was asked to share the cover with other, younger, golfers (McIlroy among them), while last year there was not a game at all as the developers bought themselves extra time to work with the next generation of consoles.

    And what better way to finally make your debut on the next generation of consoles, than with the next generation of golf stars to lead the promotion? McIlroy replacing Woods in the video game world is the latest example of the Northern Irishman replacing his idol in the world of golf—an honour and a privilege and a responsibility and a curse all at the same time.

    “I’m very proud and humbled to see my face and name on EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR,” said McIlroy, perhaps hoping that did not quite count as speaking in the third person. “This is a great honour, and something I couldn’t even dream of growing up playing the sport.”

    Much has been made of the responsibility some golfer will take on in replacing Tiger Woods, now the 14-time major champion seems to be sliding towards the end of his career as a genuine threat (he announced this week he will not play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, meaning if he plays The Masters—a sizeable if—it will be without any notable warm-up tournaments). McIlroy himself has spoken of his desire to succeed Woods, with the four majors he already has to his name a pretty good start in that regard.

    “Of course I want to be that guy,” McIlroy said before last month’s Honda Classic. “I said it last year, golf is waiting for someone like that to step forward, put their hand up and win the big tournaments. Yeah, this is the position want to be in and I want to be in it as long as I can.”

    The truth, however, is that no one player will be able to replace or succeed Woods. He was unique, not just because of how dominant he was at such a young age, but because he was a black man changing the dynamic in a traditionally, even determinedly, white sport.

    He was something no-one had ever seen before, in more ways than one, and for that reason he attracted a whole new audience to the sport. That is not an impact that can be replicated easily, and certainly not before Woods’ own career truly comes to an end. McIlroy might be the new name in the headlines and on the products, but that does not automatically translate to the same overall impact.

    Fortunately, McIlroy does not have to carry the load alone. He may be the poster boy for the next generation (now almost literally, thanks to EA and Nike), but he is one of many who have both been inspired by Woods and now hope to emulate him.

    Woods changed the game but now everyone works hard in the gym, spends hours on the range with their swing coaches, and analyses fastidiously over their course management plans ahead of a tournament. The competitive advantage to doing all those things has practically disappeared—where once Woods elevated himself above his rivals through his work ethic, now you have to be that focused if you want to have a chance of competing at the PGA Tour’s top table.

    McIlroy has pushed himself to the head of that table, but others are tracking him fast. Last year Rickie Fowler was there every step of the way, while since turning professional Patrick Reed has marked himself down as a potentially dominant force in the game.

    And then there is Jordan Spieth, still only 20, the Texan becoming just the fourth player—after Woods, Sergio Garcia and, um, Robert Gamez—to win two PGA Tour events before his 21st birthday after he beat Reed and Sean O’Hair in a play-off at the Valspar Championship.

    Now Spieth is coming for McIlroy. Rory has barely been the new Tiger for 24 hours (at least in the video game world), yet players are already chasing his crown. And that’s before we consider that Woods could yet came back to try and steal it for himself.

    “I like studying the game, [I’m a] historian of the game,” Spieth said on Sunday. “It’s really cool to have my name, you know, go along side those.  But right now currently and what I’m really focused on is Rory McIlroy is No. 1 in the world. That’s who everyone is trying to chase. 

    “That’s our ultimate goal is to eventually, you know, be the best in the world and this is a great, great stepping stone.  I don’t know, maybe move to 7 or 6 or something, but going into the four Majors of the year to have closed one out in this kind of fashion is going to give me a lot of confidence.”

    If McIlroy were to complete the career grand slam at The Masters this year, at the tender age of 25, that would certainly create a huge amount of interest in the game (and his new video game). But, longer term, he needs players challenging him on a consistent basis if he and the game are to keep pushing to greater heights.

    “It would be something way beyond my dreams if it worked out,” as McIlroy said, when asked about his grand slam prospects. “I will of course give it my all to complete the Grand Slam at 25 years of age.

    “I’ll just be myself and not dwell on the occasion too much. One tournament at a time. I will stick with my golf and fitness strategy and hopefully try to repeat a couple of last year’s performances.”

    Golf’s last golden period was the result of one man’s dominance over the field. The popularity of the next, however, will be built not just on McIlroy, but on how many other young, hungry players are able to challenge his primacy on a weekly basis.

    Fore…. sorry, 12 months away from the game

    A cautionary tale for all those pro golfers who refuse to shout “fore!” following an errant shot emerged from Sweden this week, after a club golfer was banned from playing anyway in the country for a year.

    According to the TT News Agency, the unnamed golfer was banned for being in “too great a hurry” during a scramble (a scramble!), after his tee-shot at one hole hit a player from the group in front (in fairness, that is a strict no-no in golf etiquette).

    The player appealed the ban, saying he had waited for the green to clear before hitting his shot, but his unfortunate victim apparently was sidelined for seven weeks with a hand injury and the Swedish Golf Federation take that sort of thing very seriously indeed.

    Sceptics might suggest that such a nationwide ban is unenforceable, but apparently that is not the case. As Golf Digest’s resident Swede, Stina Sternberg, informed: “Every Swedish course/club is a member of the SGF, as is every golfer—it’s mandatory and part of the golf in membership fee—so he could never sign in at a course to play without being red-flagged in the system.”

    If only the same punishment was a possibility next time tour pro Joe Bloggs fans one into the galleries but fails to shout a warning, hoping that the ball will take a kind bounce off some unfortunate spectator’s bonce… 

    See you later, alligator

    It is almost spring, which means a lot of animals are coming out of hibernation …. and heading to the golf course.

    Last week pictures emerged of a 13-foot alligator interrupting a ladies’ competition at a golf course in Florida, after it decided to take a rest next to one of the course’s greens (he seems to have left himself a lot of green to work with between him and the pin, so obviously knows the game pretty well).

    And then there was this, from Derwood Club in Texas:

    Fortunately, there was a happy ending.

    People worry about the future of golf, but this is clear evidence that the game is attracting a whole new audience.

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