Luke or Rory?

They certainly are a contrasting pair that currently occupy the top two world ranking positions, both in personality and style of play. I know Rory is the one tipped for legend status, but personally I'd always be rooting for Luke. I genuinely find the guy more enthralling to watch - i'd rather have his skill set (that short game...) and he seems like a thouroughly nice chap. I've never really warmed to Rory 's personality , but there's no doubt he's a great talent. So, where do you stand?!

If I had to sit next to either Luke or Rory at a dinner party I would pick Luke, as he seems like a much more interesting and educated character. I tend to support people in individual sports based on a gut reaction on whether I would like them or not, so if Rory and Luke are going at it down the back nine I will be supporting luke.

Luke all day long for me. For the way he plays the game in a way us mere mortals can relate to, not long of the tee but shows how being good with the wedges and short game can help us all be the best we can. I also like Mac think he has a far more enthralling personality and could hold some good diverse conversations instead of them being about golf and his bird only.

Like Ban I too cannot take to Rory, I see his personality far to similar to the things in Woods I'm not a fan of. Shame really because like Woods he's talented and in all honesty I prefer Woods to Mcilroy.

Fader wrote:Like Ban I too cannot take to Rory, I see his personality far to similar to the things in Woods I'm not a fan of. Shame really because like Woods he's talented and in all honesty I prefer Woods to Mcilroy.

This. Ever since he's emerged on the golfing scene I've found it very hard to like McIlroy. Funny thing is I couldn't tell you why.

I like both, each in their way.

What about a quick Bradley-Overton vote?

Bradley v Overton: I actually quite like Keegan bit slow and seems to have stopped the spitting, but I like how he plays the game, Overton or should I say Obnoxious is a bit of a prat imo! Just needs to engage brain before mouth and actually win something before passing yet another stupid comment

Donald for me. I just don't like Rory's demeanor at all. I hope it's his age. I don't want to be saying the same thing in 5 years time. He's too good a player to be disliked..

@ Fader. I really can't see what there's to like about Bradley. He's harder to like than Rory and that's saying something...

I can't see how he's harder to like than Rory, he doesn't make cocky comments or wander round like some arrogant little poopie. Ok so he had a spitting issue and his pre shot routine takes a while, but he's addressed the spitting and I find him generally likeable

Luke for me - he's a gentleman

Rory - I find too cocky..... i hope it's his age and that he turns out to be more of a gentleman

Boy can play golf tho'

On a scale:

Luke : 10
Rory : 7 (hope his rises)
Woods : -25

I'll take the cocky comments and the arrogant strut over Bradley's set up any day.. Drives me up the wall!!

And apart from a comment after the open I cant really remember anything else he has said that could be construed as arrogant??

I think some are giving Rory a bit of a hard time. After he blew the Masters he was very magnanimous in defeat. He had pictures of him and a green jacket wearing Schwartzel taken on the plane on the way to the far east after the event. I am sure some could not have bared doing that after what happened. I like where he came from in that his father worked up to three jobs to fund Rory's junior career. Yes, he has made mistakes. The remarks after the Open and his silly spat on Twitter with Jay Townsend come to mind. I think by being so good so young he has attracted far more media attention than Luke Donald. We don't know how a 21/22 year old Donald would have reacted if the same had happened to him.

Rory is fast becoming increasingly annoying for me, and could in time be the natural successor to Woods as the most hated player on tour for me. He's certainly as ugly, although on the face of it, he's a more interesting person.

Not much love for young Rory on this thread.

I think overall his manner / behaviour does him credit given the lifestyle that has been thrust upon him. He is respectfull to opponents and fans and always gives his time to the press. He accepts critism well and often pokes fun at himself for failing to win events or the hairstyle.

He is clearly the guy with the most talent and is trying to convert that ability into wins and No. 1 ranking, but I can't see how talking about these goals is being arrogant.

Is there an element of us Brits building up our sportstars only to take shots at them once they achieve. Why are some players perceived as being confident / driven and other perceived as arrogent / cocky. I think this often has more to do with the mindset of the fan than the behaviour of the player.

I'm pretty shocked at the thoughts on Rory here. He comes across to me as a young guy with incredible skills. I think he does a pretty good job of keeping a lid on everything. If I think how immature I was at 22 I find him quite impressive.

One of the things I like about him is that he still tends to say what he thinks which I suspect will be stopped over time when people pick up on every tiny little thing that he does.

He seems to be doing pretty well at keeping a balance. Yes, he has the celebrity girlfriend and some nice cars but this doesn't seem to have effected his game.

I'm with ScottyD18 on this one.

I really hope that we're in for a prolonged battle between the 2 of them at the top. I don't think that either of them is too bothered about the #1 ranking as long as they're playing good golf. The Masters could be fantastic if they're both right on their games which it looks like at the moment.

They're both different personalities and I wonder whether some of the "not taking to" Rory, mentioned above is due to many of us getting a little longer in the tooth? I can vaguely remember being that age! The world was one's oyster and I certainly had no talents in comparison to McIlroy.

Imagine then, how he feels. A major winner and world #1. I think he's generally a very amenable young man considering all that has been thrust upon him. He could be an awful little sh!t if he wanted to, given his stellar achievements, so perhaps cut him some slack? He posted a couple of generous tweets about Luke taking back the #1 slot.

He seems to be capable of producing more regular moments of brilliance but now accompanied with more reliable steady play. Donald, after a mid-winter lull, seems back to his calm, imperious ways and that shot to 6' in the play-off was superb under pressure.

It all stacks up for a fantastic season ahead. Whilst the nature of professional golf means that there will be opportunities for many to win tournaments, I can see these 2 feeding positively off one another to give themselves more chances than most and I could envisage them moving clear of the pack in the OWG Rankings. The Federer & Nadal of golf?

For personality- Luke.
For golf- Rory.

Have much respect and will support them both (having observed some signs that Mr McIlroy is maturing as an individual as well as a golfer), but if you extended the question to the top 3 in the world and they were all in contention at a major, I'd probably be rooting most for Westwood.

Id say Luke, but then again there is a chance he is just a nice, boring posh boy. Id actually hazard a guess that Rory is the better company over a beer.
I think people like Donald because he is your everyman golfer, you kinda think you should be able to do what he does if you worked really, really hard at it. Not the case obviously but you know what I mean.

super_realist wrote:Rory is fast becoming increasingly annoying for me, and could in time be the natural successor to Woods as the most hated player on tour for me. He's certainly as ugly, although on the face of it, he's a more interesting person.

SR, you don't appear to have a semblence of respect for the majority of people on this planet, do you??
You are perfect, presumably??

Really appreciate both Golfers and I think they are deserving of their respective positions in the World Rankings. Both have been most consistant over the past 2 seasons.

That said, Rory for me as I enjoy his gung-ho/all or nothing style, though it can also be frustrating as hell.

Think he's getting a hard time on this thread, largely hes handled himself admirably for his age and considering the hype the golfing World has placed on him. Think his management move has also helped but this could be early days, certainly doesnt appear to be tweeting as often. Other than his ill advised Jay Townsend and the Open comments what else has he actually done to pi$$ off folk? I'd echo the thought of how I handled myself at a simple age/juncture in life, I would say hand on heart I would probably have gone entirely off the rails (which infact very nearly did happen to me in 2nd year uni).

SR, other than his undoubted talent/marketing position, what else is there to compare him to Woods? One has a personality, media friendly, spectator friendly and extremely magnanimous/gracious whether in defeat or winning... the other is Tiger Woods. Theres absolutely no comparison for me.

John Cregan wrote:

super_realist wrote:Rory is fast becoming increasingly annoying for me, and could in time be the natural successor to Woods as the most hated player on tour for me. He's certainly as ugly, although on the face of it, he's a more interesting person.

SR, you don't appear to have a semblence of respect for the majority of people on this planet, do you??
You are perfect, presumably??

I have to agree with your sentiment, John. I'd feel far more inclined to contribute to the forum if the boorish pub oaf wasn't about. Unfortunately, it's not so easy to peek in the door of a forum to see if he's holding court!

Who listens to super anyway?

damned3putt

I hope you can embrace the warmth from the rest of us and continue to post?

its very unfair to LW to consider this a two horse race i think

I'm not saying Rory is like that yet, I'm merely saying that he could easily become like that. He's already pretty overexposed for someone who has only won 4 or so tournaments. There isn't much more boring than overexposure, how irritating is it to see the likes of Woods/Beckham etc everywhere?

Mac you might like to remember that in your own poll, it was you who people voted that they didn't want to listen to.

If Kaymer gets his game back I would expect him to also have a say.

Precisely, I think we've got as strong a top 5 as we have in well over a decade.

I think we have potentially a strong top 5 but as it stands none of the players in the top 5 could be considered greats. I would put Woods, Els, Mickleson and Singh in that bracket, plus you had the likes of Goosen and Harrington as multiple major winners and frequent tour winners.
So Id say the future is looking bright at the top but I wouldnt call it right now a strong top 5.

Neither one of these guys is going to help me with my furniture on my next move, so I'll limit my observations to their professional golf game:

Rory's what, 15 years younger and has already won a major and was ranked #1 in the world? It's incomprehensible to me that he won't finish his career with more victories in regular tournaments and majors than Luke. I expect Rory to be the dominant golfer of his era. Perhaps not as dominant as Woods or Nicklaus, and perhaps more like Faldo or Norman, but dominant none-the-less.

Luke's elevated his game to parts unknown and relatively late in his career. I always observed him to be a very good player, but he's proven to be a great player. He didn't hit too may greens last Sunday, but he took the top prize away from a bunch of very good players. I don't see a weakness in his game at this point. More importantly, he seems to simply get the ball into the hole when he needs it most.

C'mon Augusta!

"Rory's what, 15 years younger "

Donald is 34 and rory 22.

Thanks Mac -- Still a big head start for Rory.

Went for Donald but Rory's OK in my book. Both exceptional golfers and with Westwood etc should be interesting over the next few months.

McIlroy has made one or two näive comments in the past but, generally, he's corrected himself if he's said something silly. As a 22-y/o on the sporting World stage, he does pretty well I think. It's not his fault if the sycophants in the media are looking to blow smoke up his arse all the time; it's they that over-egg the pudding all the time.

Wasn't it funny on the playoff hole sunday how, as the players' approaches got shorter, they finished further from the hole?(apart from garrigus i think who hit last and got fairly close)

Also, what does it say about all the fuss over long driving when someone like Donald, who is neither long nor accurate, can get to #1 and stay there?

I did not realise Luke was that old until your post prompted me to look it up, i thought he was only about 30/31.


I cannot imagine the tedium of the conversation between Rory and Caroline, from about the age of 4 they will have picked up nothing of interest outside the worlds of golf and tennis. I hope the sex makes up for it.

Rory for me, even though I'm (part-)English. Just think his game is more exciting, and when he's on song he's superb to watch. Donald is a very fine player too, and I love his short game, but he doesn't excite me the way Rory does.

As for the character thing, I quite like Rory's "arrogant strut" down the fairway, it makes him appear to have a sort of aura about him (and in fact it's been noticeable IMO recently that very few guys have been able to play their best alongside him - see the matchplay where he reached the final despite only playing anything like his best on very rare occasions). Sure he's said a few daft things in interviews (and again, not as many as has been made out), but what do you expect from a teenager?

incontinentia wrote:Wasn't it funny on the playoff hole sunday how, as the players' approaches got shorter, they finished further from the hole?(apart from garrigus i think who hit last and got fairly close)

Also, what does it say about all the fuss over long driving when someone like Donald, who is neither long nor accurate, can get to #1 and stay there?

Says exactly that I think (i.e. it's a fuss) and people might be better advised to spend more time on their irons and short games.

People never ever will though Navy, precisely the reason the likes of Taylor Made never make a big deal about their scoring clubs and put all their effort into propaganda about "LENGTH".

McLaren wrote:...I cannot imagine the tedium of the conversation between Rory and Caroline, from about the age of 4 they will have picked up nothing of interest outside the worlds of golf and tennis. I hope the sex makes up for it.

What a daft remark. How do you know that they don't know anything else? In any case, why would you assume at that age the average person knows anything very much outside of their own narrow experiences??? Did you?

super_realist wrote:People never ever will though Navy, precisely the reason the likes of Taylor Made never make a big deal about their scoring clubs and put all their effort into propaganda about "LENGTH".

Sadly true. The number of times recently I've played alongside people who can drive (often better than me!) but can't hit any iron to save their lives.

"why would you assume at that age the average person knows anything very much outside of their own narrow experiences??? Did you?"


I would like to think so.

That's the thing though Navy. I firmly believe that you don't need much talent to be good at the short game inside 50yards, nor do you need any special equipment. You just need to practice and realise the importance of that element of the game.

Companies are not interested in players getting better, they only want to sell clubs under the emporers clothes motive of extra distance.

s-p,

I agree.

I spent the winter 4s playing with an 18 handicapper who was hitting it 20 yards past me off the tee, but from 150 yards in he was hopeless. About half the time he drove to within a wedge or 9 iron he ended up picking up three shots later and if he did get the second shot on or close to the green he normally took three to get it in the hole.

I'd add a solid technique to the list of requrements for a good short game, but as you say its largely down to practice.

The wider choice of wedges probably prevents players learning the necessary skills. Back in the 80's we had a wedge (same make as the other irons - square face with little bounce) and a sandwedge (maxcimum loft at 56 degrees with maximum bounce) and you had to learn all sorts of shots with these two clubs. Now the average golfer has three wedges with various loft and bounce and expect the choice of club to deliver the shot rather than developing the skill.

I think it's great that both are there and that they do have sch different styles. I prefer not to judge one against the other as I could be here all day trying to justify why I picked one over the other. I also don't think they'll have it all their own way at the top but I suspect that barring injury they'll both be top 5 fixtures for a good few years.

Reading back through the thread I picked up a surprisingly high negative vibe about Rory seemily related to an increasingly arrogant personality. If I'm honest I suspect a lot of that in many of you is coming from a sub conscious jealousy, you's would love that talent, haven't got it and so seek to level the playing field in your own minds by criticising aspects of his persona. Just saying....que the defensive rebuttals

I would say that its suprising how much stick he gets considering how much he got his butt kissed when he used to post on 606.

Very true Diggers. It was shiversome how much pointless articles were produced just in the hope of eliciting a response from him or Westwood.

I don't find Rory arrogant. I find him incredibly confident in his trade. Good for him -- a true world beater.

I'm becoming more and more confident that Rory is the real deal. He has something no seen since Tiger in his hay days. And on top he actually seems quite down to earth and a quite likeable guy. True, there was a period last year where he came across as a bit cocky. It was just around the time where he also became more fit. But I would absolutely not call him arrogant, and certaintly not now.

Btw, did anyone see the Youtube clip where Caroline invited him on the tennis court to play a point against Sharapova? I think it was in the final of some tourney a few weeks ago. Quite funny.

I find the comments on here re: distance verses accuracy completely to my thinking, I find commentators bang on about how far so and so hits it, how short Luke is and how the likes of Furyk and Toms can't keep up with the new breed due to the power they have all to frustrating when I watch the game.

I heard on Sky the other day how young Matteo only averages 272yards from the tee followed by Mark Roe saying how he needs to be longer to compete totally insulting to the young lad. Doesn't he at his tender age already have something like 2 or 3 tour wins under his belt! That's 2 or 3 more than Rickie Fowler and not far behind McIlroy in total number of wins and he has years ahead of him.

They also were saying about Luke yet again being shorter than his play-off competitors yet his 7iron was closer than Garrigus could hit driver and wedge! The other annoying one is when they were banging on about Rose and how he has added yards to his game under Foley so what even Justin said its about the consistency he has found under Foley that has led to his upsurge in form and being able to compete week on week not distance.

Back to the OP as I said earlier its always Luke for me, I like the way he plays and how he conducts himself on and off the course I also find watching him a good example to club players who can't hit a 300yard drive, but can take heed of things like good iron and wedge play, not to mention his incredible touch on the greens. Similar reason why I like Rose, goes about his on course business quietly and methodically and I enjoy watching those types.

With Rory I get frustrated at him, yes he goes all guns blazing and when its on its a sight to see but there's something in his demeanour and personality that I cannot like and for that reason I never seem to root for him. I hope he goes on to achieve the great things his talent is aligned to.

I agree pedro. however there is still a question mark over his(Rory's) mental strength for me, although the honda recently was encouraging. I would be delighted if he could bring home the green jacket this year.

High time a Brit won at The Masters again, although I'd hate all the Emerald Isle/Green Jacket connotations if McIilroy won.

Would love to see Rock win, It's great the way he just doesn't seem to give a toss and doesn't wear a hat either.