Tiger — he’s too big for the bigots and too good for the begrudgers

THE only Irishman ever to win the British Open Golf Championship was Fred Daly from Portrush in 1947. That was 60 years ago, so it certainly is time for another Irish winner.

Regardless of how things turn out at Carnoustie in this week’s British Open, 18-year-old Rory McIlroy set down a marker for himself as a name for the future, not only as the leading amateur but even more so as the only player to have a bogey-free round on the first day.

Other promising youngsters have stood out at tender years, such as Johnny Miller, Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods, to mention the most obvious. There was a time when the world heavyweight boxing champion was the most famous and most respected sportsman in the world, but you would be hard-pressed to find anybody in the street who could even name the current title-holder.