Rory, Jordan, and Jason. They may not be known just by their first names yet like Arnie, Jack, and Tiger. But Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day are more than just the three best golfers in the world. They’re the refreshing, youthful face of sports. Three exceptionally gifted athletes from around the world we can root for and admire. Every golfer is amazed by their strength, accuracy, and steady hands as they play a game at the highest level. While the rest of us play a game with the same rules, but that’s about as close as we get to what they seem to do so effortlessly. But, there is much more we can learn from these three guys.
They come from around the world. They are all in the twenties. Rory is an only child who grew up playing golf in the little town of Holywood, Northern Ireland who burst onto the golf scene first. Taught by his father, he has already won four major championships. Jordan grew up in Dallas. He played at the University of Texas and is devoted to his special needs sister. He won two majors last year, and just missed winning a third. Jason was born in Queensland, Australia. His father died when he was 12. Golf helped him through some rough teenage years. He is the third of the three to be ranked number one in the world. He has also won a major. That’s seven majors among the three of them already. Most golfers go through their careers without winning any majors, of even coming close.
They represent what we admire in our role models. Young, talented, driven to win the right way, and gracious in defeat. They don’t sulk and refuse to answer questions after crushing defeats like Cam Newton after the Super Bowl. Spieth and McIlroy suffered humiliating meltdowns at the Masters when they were leading on Sunday. They stood there and answered questions with grace and class. Day fell down on the course from vertigo at the U-S Open, but keep playing. We see them hugging their families on the eighteenth green after they win. It’s hard to pick just one to root for. They followed the Tiger era. It was a one man show by one of the greatest athletes of all time that came to a crashing end. But, as great as Tiger was, he moved on a higher level, and could be hard to relate to for people. Most of us would be too intimidated to even think about playing a round with Tiger. But, you would go out with Rory, Jordan, or Jason if they asked because you know they are nice guys, and would never make you feel uncomfortable as you hack around with them.
Much of the news about sports is bad. College and professional athletes being charged with domestic abuse and rape. Commissioners, coaches and university officials not taking action, or covering it up. Olympic officials telling athletes how to cheat on drug tests. Major league baseball players still being suspended for using performance enhancing drugs. The NFL denying the concussion problem. Accusations of corruption and payoffs of officials at FIFA, the organization that runs soccer, the biggest sport in the world.
Golf is all about playing by the rules and winning with integrity. It’s the only sport where players are expected to call penalties on themselves if they accidently move their ball or ground their club in a bunker. These guys seem to be more than strapping athletes in brightly colored shirts who can hit a ball well over 300 yards, or sink a 25 foot putt with a million dollars on the line. They seem like well grounded family men who appreciate their extraordinary talent, and use their riches to support good causes. I’m sure they have their faults and weaknesses just as we all do. We should always be careful not to be blinded by celebrity. But we should appreciate and recognize good examples that we see in these young men.
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