While Tiger Woods enjoyed a rare weekend off, two of his young heir apparents seized centre stage.
Before leaving Quail Hollow on Friday after missing the cut, Tiger Woods joked "at least I get the weekend to watch and see how it's done, how real players play golf."
He sure had a good seat.
First, 18-year-old Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa shot the lowest round ever recorded on a men's professional tour, a 58, to win The Crowns by five shots. It was his seventh win on the Japanese Tour in his young career.
Several hours later in Charlotte, 20-year-old Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy fired a jaw-dropping 62 to blow past Masters champion Phil Mickelson to win the Quail Hollow Championship for his first career PGA Tour victory.
As historic as Ishikawa's 58 was, McIlroy's 62 was the more impressive performance.
By all accounts, the 6,545-yard Nagoya Golf Club Ishikawa tore up on a Sunday, is a short, yet tricky track with rock-hard greens. McIlroy's 62 was on a major championship-quality golf course and he finished by going 5-under over his final five holes, punctuated by a 40-foot bomb for birdie on the final green that sent the gallery into a frenzy.
Dare we say, a Tiger-like frenzy?
More telling than the grand finale on 18 however, was the other Tiger-like aspect of McIlroy's win. When he took the lead for the first time early on the back nine, instead of sitting on it, he stepped on his opponents' throats, pulling away to win by four.
On the CBS telecast, you could sense they felt they were broadcasting perhaps golf's biggest coming out party since Tiger Woods' Masters victory in 1997, and their crew were quick to hop aboard the McIlroy bandwagon.
David Feherty, the Northern Irishman-turned American citizen who quipped McIlroy had stirred his repressed Irish pride, could hardly contain his admiration for McIlroy during their post-round interview.
Meanwhile in the 18th tower, host Jim Nantz and analyst Nick Faldo took turns gushing over McIlroy, Faldo going as far as to suggest his Faldo junior series program helped set the stage for Sunday's dramatics.
But the opinion we really wanted to hear Sunday was Woods’, something only those perched next him on his couch were privy to.
It'll be fascinating to hear what he has to say about Generation Next when he arrives at The Players Championship later this week.
Could Tiger go back-to-back?
Woods has never missed consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour, but it's very possible it could happen this week at The Players.
Despite being a former champion, the TPC at Sawgrass is not one of Woods' favourite tracks. The tight, tree-lined course takes the driver out of his hand on many holes and should he fail to find the fairways -- a common occurance last week -- there is trouble awaiting him on every hole.
In 12 career starts at The Players, Woods has the one victory (2001) but just three other top-10 finishes.
Rust may have been to blame for his inconsistent play at The Masters, but anyone who watched him implode en route to a 79 at Quail Hollow on Friday saw a golf game in need of some major work.
Worth a read:
-- The executive director of the Japanese Tour says Ishikawa's financial and cultural impact cannot be overestimated.
-- McIlroy's hometown newspaper, The Belfast Telegraph, is ready to anoint him as golf's newest superstar.
-- Italian Matteo Manassero makes his pro debut at this week's Italian Open while trying to shrug off comparisons to Seve Ballesteros.
-- For those of you who suspected Anthony Kim's off-course life resembles an episode of Entourage, this behind-the-scenes look at a recent Sports Illustrated shoot pretty much confirms it.
-- Golf.com on how Phil Mickelson can pass Tiger Woods this week in the world rankings and become No. 1 for the first time in his career.
