Rory McIlroy-The Next Big Thing?

According to Geoff Ogilvy, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy isn't just ridiculously talented, but could find himself near the top of the World Golf Rankings in a year's time. Ernie Els goes one step further and thinks McIlroy could be the next #1 and Trevor Immelman thinks the 19-year-old could find himself slipping on a green jacket this April.

Today, over at pgatour.com, they're covering his every move at the Honda Classic, which marks his first stroke play start on U.S. soil. McIlroy is quickly becoming a big media draw:

So far, the 19-year-old wide-eyed, bushy-haired teen hasn't disappointed. He won in Dubai, reached the quarterfinals last week and is 2 under through his first three holes today.

We don't care too much for hole by hole score keeping in the first round of a tournament. The Honda is, like most PGA Tour events, played over 72 holes and while it's nice to know that McIlroy is playing well, being 2 under through 3 doesn't mean anything come Sunday afternoon.

What we do like, however, is McIlroy's swing, which was captured by Donal Hughes of the Irish Examiner here:



The video shows McIlroy's swing from three different angles in three different speeds and I've watched it three times and still can't find a flaw. Can you?

With one European Tour win under his belt, a more technically sound swing than Tiger's was at his age and a top 20 World Golf Ranking, McIlroy's future success seems inevitable. But how far he'll go depends on his determination, mental fortitude and whether he'll continue to have the cut-throat competitiveness necessary to not only dethrone the greatest golfer ever, but a growing list of up and coming talent.

Time will tell.

In the meantime it's great to see how Woods' success has inspired a new generation of young golfers from around the globe (McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Danny Lee) who not only have technically sound golf swings, but promise to keep golf fans excited long past Tiger's prime.