Soon after Collin Morikawa sunk his final putt to win the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said: “You just might be referring to him by one name in the future.”
I’m assuming he meant “Collin”.
Uh oh, here we go again in our noble attempt to coronate the “Next Tiger.”
Newsflash, folks. It’s going to be a while before the “Next Tiger” arrives. C’mon, just like Jack Nicklaus, Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali and Babe Ruth, these guys are once in a generation icons.
Yet, the golf media can’t help themselves. They love to crown kings when they’re not questioning what the hell is wrong with Jordan Spieth or why Rickie Fowler can’t win a major.
Who knows, are we going start hearing stories about how Brooks Koepka can’t close the deal anymore?
Last year, it was Cameron Champ, Xander Schauffle and C.T. Pan that many people were predicting were going to win majors soon.
This year the media wants to coronate Victor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and, of course, “Collin”.
At 23 years old, Collin Morikawa is an epic talent, but the golf world is littered with young guys who start out like meteors then begin to flame out when they can’t devote every waking hour to golf and real life comes into play like marriage and children.
Can we “Puh-lease” wait a couple of years until a player develops a sold majors resume before we jump on the “Next Tiger” bandwagon?