Has a New Era of Golf Arrived?

Going in to the final round of the 111^th U.S Open, Rory McIlroy and everyone else knew it would have taken every bit of a complete meltdown disaster for him to not walk away with his first major. It is a little unbelievable that the last two U.S Open champions both hail from the small country of Northern Ireland, this might be something we should get use to seeing in the near future. McIlory’s talents are endless and he is believed to be by most of his golfing colleagues, the best player on tour. Graeme McDowell believes Rory is the best player he has ever seen! That statement might be a little biased and over the top being that McDowell and McIlory are fellow countrymen, but we all have to believe that Rory is the next best young talent to take over the game at twenty-two years of age. Could his eight shot dominating victory at Congressional Country Club lead to a new era of golf, as we know it? If so, how will this next step affect the fans of American golf without a figure such as Tiger Woods? These questions will all be answered if the trend of International domination continues in the game of golf, which we all need to believe it will.

Even though McIlroy thoroughly impressed everyone tuning in this past week, television ratings were down 26 percent compared to last years U.S Open at Pebble Beach when Tiger Woods was in contention. Johnny Miller said that the atmosphere on Sunday felt like a European Tour event being broadcasted on the Golf Channel. This comparison leads us to believe that without Tiger, the average American fan is uninterested. Hopefully this trend does not progress in the future and soon enough an American superhero or group of them will bring us back to the game we all grew to love. Don’t be alarmed because the young American talent is apparent and once they can develop the attitude to become a champion just as Jack and Tiger did, the U.S. will be able to compete on an International stage. Until then we should get used to seeing our fellow countrymen on the bottom page of the leader board.

New York Week #1

        When I think of one word that comes to mind about my first week in New York City it has to be, Overwhelming. Overwhelming is a word that can sometimes be taken negatively, but in my case it is nothing but positive. Coming from smaller environments, such as Tulsa and Oxford, I have always wanted to experience the big city life. It has not been long enough for me to develop the attitude of a new yorker but I think with time I will be cussing and hollering with the best of them, maybe I will even develop the classic New York accent, pronouncing coffee as "cawffee." One thing I know I wont develop is a love for the Yankees, sorry but the Phillies will always be my team.
        My first week has consisted of many things that I never thought I could accomplish in under one week. The first night was a little sketchy, since Hayden (my girlfriend) and I are new to this whole big city atmosphere we decided it would be a marvelous idea to just walk aimlessly from our apartment in hopes to find a semi-nice restaurant where we could eat. It turns out that we walked straight in to the spanish Harlem area, in the midst of darkness. I guess we should have just ate at the Subway below our apartment.
        Our next night was our first time for us to go out in the city, with a few friends we knew from home. After a long night of drinking at multiple pre-game locations (people apparently don't go out until midnight in New York) we decided to call the night over with after seeing a girl projectile vomiting outside the club we were about to go in to. Needless to say it sort of ruined our night, oh well I think I ended up spending thirty-five dollars on two drinks, it was a blessing in disguise.
        The Subway system in New York should just be called a Labyrinth of disgustingness. Already being someone who is extremely claustrophobic and easily grossed out by everything, taking the subway to work everyday might be very interesting (tune in to see what happens). I work at the Time-Life building which is right across the street from Radio City Music Hall. The building is amazing and my office is on the 32nd floor. I am interning for Golf Magazine, which is an absolute dream job for me. On my second day of work I went to a Rickie Fowler photo shoot with the company and met him along with the president of Puma. They were all really nice and down to earth. I was given a Rickie Fowler Puma golf shirt, which was as my father would call it, loud.
        Everything is coming at me a hundred miles per hour but I absolutely love it and wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything. Tonight, Hayden and I are going to the Yankees/Sox game where we get to see old knuckleballer, Timmy Wakefield take on the home town favorites. It should be a good game even though Teixeira wont be playing. See you all next week.