THE YOUNG ONES

"The young ones...ooh, they are the young ones..."

I can't seem to get Cliff Richard's timeless hit out of my mind after hearing about Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa's heroics this last Sunday at Quail Hollow and The Crowns respectively. By now you would have read all over the wires that McIlroy shot an astounding 10-under-par 62 in the final round in the PGA tournament to beat Phil Mickelson by four strokes, and that Ishikawa blitzed the field at the Japan Golf Tour event in Nagoya for his fifth professional win.

Golf is well, and living nicely in the hopes of these young shoulders.

Mickelson is playing the best golf in his life, but at 40, there aren't that many years left for Lefty to hold the torch. Of course, Tiger is still No.1 (but for how long, you might ask??), and only 34, but while he is left sorting out his woman, golf, and family troubles, golf needs new stars to keep the fire burning in the eyes of spectators, readers, and television.

Thank goodness we have Rory, Ryo, Anthony Kim, and (don't hold your breath) Matteo Mannassero (no, he's not a footballer, but last year's British Amateur champion who topped the amateurs at the Masters) in the wings waiting to come on stage. Rory will just turn 21 soon, Ryo is 18, Anthony is 24, and Matteo is a (OMG!) 17.

I may speak for myself, but the golf media is pretty tired of Tiger-bashing stories. And although Phil's emotional win at the Masters may have led to a few tears, we need a few new sparks to get the juices flowing from the news front. I'm wringing my hands to see these young golfers step up to the plate, and give the Tours' stalwarts a run for the money. Nothing thrills and satisfies as when prodigies make good. Expectation and anticipation is only as good as when promising stars come out and prove that they are more than just stories waiting to unfold.

But for this to really occur, a few things need to happen. McIlroy needs to stay fit, for when he is without pain, we can see how well he can play. (It seems that when he's playing well, he has a tendency to arch his spine to his right on the finish. How will his back withstand the stress of his game in the long run? Only time will tell.) Ryo (right) needs to prove that his prowess and power can cross the Pacific into the US, and beyond into Europe before he can see his name in lights. And Kim needs to maintain his intensity and improve on consistency to keep up with the "kids".

All this makes for great theatre. All the world of golf's a stage, and they are merely players. But what players they are and we, as the audience, can't wait for the next act.

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