Graeme McDowell foresees a golden age and a US resurgence

Who would have succeeded in a golfing rivalry between Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods is a debate that has stirred at a thousand clubhouse bars more than 15 years, but Graeme McDowell believes the game’s next giants will turn the hypothetical into reality.

Comparing Rory McIlroy’s power game to 14-time major winner Woods and newly-crowned Masters king Jordan Spieth to 18-time champion Nicklaus, McDowell foresees a golden age for his sport and in particular a resurgence for the US. McDowell, who will this weekend attempt to regain the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage title he won at Hilton Head two years ago, was speaking as he completed 72 holes at Augusta National for only the third time in eight attempts.

Finishing well down the field, the Irishman was nevertheless pleased with how is game, described by him as a work in progress, was coming along after a difficult start to the season. Yet the former US Open champion was just as enthused by the potential future of a game set to be spearheaded by a McIlroy-Spieth rivalry.

‘There are just some great young players coming around,” McDowell said. “Talking about Jordan and Rory, they are very difficult to compare because they are so different. I think it is a good thing. To see a guy coming through that’s not Dustin, Rory, guys like that who are dominating physically, when you see a guy coming around who is average build, average size and hits it average distance?

‘The average distance nowadays is 285, 290. It’s not short but he’s not the longest player on the planet. He gets it done in other ways. Rory is comparable to Tiger. I don’t think Jordan is necessarily comparable to Tiger; I think he’s more comparable to Nicklaus, which is pretty cool.

‘I think it’s exciting to have so many great storylines. There are a lot of potential eras evolving,” he added. “Guys like Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, I feel like the young blood is strong here in the States as opposed to the rest of the world. They certainly have the young potential coming through and it’s very good for the game. When you look at Ryder Cups and things, I think it makes things very interesting for them. Our nucleus is the same going forward but I think they have a lot of potential young blood coming through which could change the shape of their team.”

That may raise alarm bells from a European perspective and for 2016 captain Darren Clarke in particular. Clarke will attempt to win a fourth Ryder Cup in succession for the continent when the matches are renewed at Hazeltine in Minnesota in 16 months and is expecting a tough battle on US soil, despite being buoyed by top-10 performances at the Masters from Rose, McIlroy, Casey and Ian Poulter.

“I think the future of the American Ryder team’s very strong,” Clarke said before leaving Augusta for a big-game fishing holiday in Florida. “You got a lot of young guys pushing forward, really good players. I think the team may look a little bit different with some of that young guard, there might be a few fresh faces. We will see. All in all, it’s a long way off, but it will be a very exciting week.”