AUGUSTA , Ga. — Rory McIlroy, meet Jordan Spieth.
No. 1, meet No. 2.
This should be fun.
McIlroy, the current No. 1 ranked player in the world, came to this Masters chasing history, trying to become only the sixth player ever to complete a career Grand Slam. Soon, he might find himself chasing Spieth, whose resounding Masters victory Sunday elevated him to No. 2 in the world.
It's on. McIlroy and Spieth. Spieth and McIlroy. The new "big two'' in the game.
Nick Faldo, on the CBS telecast Sunday, spot-on nailed the state of the game when he called the Spieth victory "a momentous moment in the history of our game,'' calling Spieth "a new man who could carry our game on for decades — along with Rory.
"With these two guys, golf is in very, very strong hands,'' Faldo said.
Spieth, still in the glow of victory during his post-tournament interview, was his perfect, humble self when asked about a budding rivalry with McIlroy. Spieth, remember, has been on record about his desire to take that No. 1 world ranking from McIlroy.
"As far as with Rory, he's got four majors,'' Spieth said. "That's something I can still only dream about; and just numerous wins. I'll never hit it as far as he does and I have to make up for that somewhere else. He's an unbelievably nice guy. Carries that World No. 1 with class.
"I don't know as far as a rivalry right now. I look forward to getting in the heat of the moment with him a couple times in the near future and see if we can battle it out and test our games.''
This week at Augusta, where McIlroy had more to play for than anyone in the field, missing only the Masters in his quest for the career Slam, he was nine shots short of Spieth, the most aggressive pursuer of is No. 1 ranking.
McIlroy called Spieth's virtuoso performance "very, very impressive,'' while recalling his runaway U.S. Open win in 2011, which came two months after he'd blown a four-shot final-round lead at the Masters.
"I was fortunate enough to feel something pretty similar with my win at Congressional,'' McIlroy said. "It's a special time for him. It's not a feeling many people get, especially with their first major championship like Tiger had it here in 1997. It's great for him.''
Tiger Woods, who knows a thing or two about carrying the sport of golf, said Spieth is "doing all the things he needs to do.''
"When he gets it going, he's one of those guys that, like Rory, can go off and make bunches of birdies in a row,'' Woods said.
"There's something innate with him and those type of individuals,'' Zach Johnson said. "Something intangible that probably a lot of athletes occasionally touch, but rarely maintain. Tiger Woods would be the epitome of that. My guess is Jack [Nicklaus] was like that back in the day.''
Johnson — and many other astute observers — say Spieth has that ''it'' factor that the biggest possess.
"Obviously you can put him in that classification of phenom,'' Johnson said. "I don't think he'll get caught up in that. I think he's going to be fine for a long time.''
McIlroy marveled at how much better Spieth handled himself after his 2014 Masters disappointment, failing to convert a 54-hole lead, compared to his experience when he blew that four-shot lead to lose the 2011 Masters.
"He's way more mature than I was at 21, and a hell of a golfer and a great person as well,'' McIlroy said. "It's nice to get your major tally up and running at quite an early stage of your career. I'm happy for him. It's great to see, great for the game, and I'm sure he'll win many more.''
If we're all lucky, Spieth and McIlroy will be battling it out in major championships for the next decade or two.
Bring it on.
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