More talented and more human: Rory McIlroy vs Tiger Woods

“Tiger’s work ethic has always been tremendous, and his mindset as well. But I think Rory (McIlroy) has more pure talent. I have always said that, of the guys I’ve played with, Rory has the most talent. I see him winning lots of tournaments and lots of majors.” (7th December)

These are the words of world number one Luke Donald, so I’m inclined to believe him.

And if McIlroy manages to win the Dubai World Championship this weekend and swipe the European Order of Merit crown from under Donald’s nose – we will know it’s true.

The Ulsterman has been compared to Woods ever since he found himself at the top of the world amateur rankings at the age of 17. Both men are leagues ahead of the rest of their generation, and both come from middle/lower income backgrounds with parents who went out of their way to help.

But that’s where the similarities end. Rory’s folks picked up extra jobs to pay for his equipment and travel, but Earl Woods went a lot, lot further.

Back in the Vietnam War many in the US army, including Earl, were reportedly programmed to forget the death and destruction of the previous 24 hours. The next day suddenly became a lot easier to deal with. According to a recent TV documentary in the UK, Earl trained his son years later, with the same techniques, to forget a bad day on the golf course.

It’s yet another example of how Tiger was programmed from birth to be a champion, at the expense of a ‘normal’ upbringing. And that becomes immediately clear when you interview him. Over the years I have never, ever heard Tiger admitting to any weakness, a bad round yes, a problem with his swing, but not a weakness. There is seldom any sign of the real man behind the mask.

Now you could argue that Tiger’s rise to prominence coincided with unprecedented intrusion from the world’s media, and that he had no choice but to ‘close down’. But I suspect that his monosyllabic blandness had already been formulated.

McIlroy, on the other hand, is much more open. Listening to him, you feel there is a direct line from his brain to his mouth without diversions, or traffic lights. Rory doesn’t frighten his opponents into submission with the silent death stare.

He is naturally a jovial soul, a happy-go-lucky young man who seems to shrug off life’s disappointments. In fact up until last week’s victory in Hong Kong there were question marks over whether he really had the focus and belief to grind out a victory when his game wasn’t quite firing.

The talent though was never in doubt. “Rory showed the world how great he can be when he won the US Open. That was an unbelievable way to play in a major event and finish it off like he did”. Donald, along with everyone else, was still in awe of Rory’s eight-shot victory in Maryland back in June.

The next year though will be a hard one. Already his health is suffering after a whirlwind 12 months where he played on four continents. Expectations will also add to the pressures on golf’s heir apparent.

And that’s why Tiger is still the most impressive player in the game’s history. For well over a decade his game did not suffer under the intense glare of the world’s television cameras. In fact he flourished, and the legend was born. A legend he eventually found impossible to live up to.

Rory might not win as many tournaments over the next 10 years but that won’t change the views of men like Luke Donald who believe that he is the most talented golfer in the world.

Catch Christy Simson on SportsCenter on ESPN, every weekday at 7.30pm, for highlights and results from the Dubai World Championship