When last week dawned, Dirk Nowitzki was considered too “European” to lead a team to an NBA championship and Rory McIlroy was known as the golfer who frittered away a four-shot lead in the final round of the Masters.
Suffice to say, it was a good week for athletes previously known as choke artists.
Nowitzki shed his unwanted reputation last Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and McIlroy demolished any memory of his Masters meltdown with a historic 16-under par in the U.S. Open on Sunday.
“I felt like I got over the Masters pretty quickly,” the 22-year-old from Ireland said in the post-tournament news conference. “I kept telling you guys that, and I don’t know if you believed me or not.”
McIlroy was supposed to be so mentally crushed from shooting 80 in the final round at Augusta, Ga., that he would never recover. It took him all of two months to rebound and win the very next major.
As refreshing as that story is, it made for boring TV. Admit it. It was a lot more compelling to watch McIlroy bury his face in his hands in April than to watch Jason Day try to finish within single-digit strokes Sunday. The NBA Finals was the same; ratings were huge not just because Nowitzki was exorcising his demons, but because viewers loved watching LeBron James still battling his.
McIlroy played with a fury, but there’s no denying the planets aligned for him. The sport is undergoing a changing of the guard with no dominant names at the top. Tiger Woods is wounded, figuratively and physically, and did not compete at Congressional. American golf is atrocious, eliminating a large portion of McIlroy’s would-be competition.
When the opportunity arose, though, McIlroy capitalized. He’s held a share of the lead in the last four majors, filling a void atop the world rankings when greats like Woods and Ernie Els are on the decline.
In the big picture, Sunday may become a microcosm of the PGA Tour’s near future: By the time the rest of the field recovers, McIlroy may already be too far ahead.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
The Circle of Life brings McIlroy the U.S. Open trophy.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s just phenomenal golf. He lapped the field, and for such a young age, how mature he is. Golf right now is in a really, really good spot where Rory McIlroy is right now.”
— U.S. Open runner-up Jason Day on McIlroy’s performance.
TWEET OF THE DAY
That’s every day, Beth.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Either this is one of the worst ceremonial first pitches ever, or John Wall was trying to show off his fundamentals with a bounce pass.
