Spieth v McIlroy set to be golf’s next great duel

A kiss for girlfriend Annie Verret. Picture: AP

WE’VE had Palmer versus Nicklaus, Faldo versus Norman and Woods versus Mickelson. Now golf can lick its lips at the prospect of McIlroy and Spieth going head-to-head on the game’s biggest stages over the next decade.

Rory McIlroy had already shown his intent to lead the sport into an exciting new era by claiming four majors by the age of 25. All that remained to be found was someone to go toe-to-toe with the Ulsterman.

Step forward Jordan Spieth. At just 21, a year younger than McIlroy when he achieved the feat, the Texan has his first major title in the bag. His four-shot victory in the 79th Masters was every bit as impressive as McIlroy’s breakthrough when he romped to an eight-shot victory in the 2011 US Open.

Based on his second-placed finish on Sunday – the tenth time he’d been runner-up in a major – there could still be some life yet in old dog Phil Mickelson. Justin Rose, Spieth’s other closest challenger at the end of an enthralling four days at Augusta National, also looks as though he’ll have a part to play in the game’s biggest events over the next few years as he bids to add to a 2013 US Open triumph.

Jordan Spieth with 2014 winner Bubba Watson ahead of the Green Jacket presentation. Picture: Getty

While the last round ultimately brought disappointment after three days of encouraging signs, Tiger Woods will still believe he can get in the mix, too, especially at venues like St Andrews, where he won The Open in 2000 by eight shots and will be relishing the event’s return there this summer.

As the dust settles on the season’s opening major, though, excitement is growing about what lies ahead for McIlroy and Spieth if, as is expected, they start locking horns as the likes of Palmer/Nicklaus, Faldo/Norman and Woods/Mickelson all did in the past. “Rory’s got four majors and numerous wins – that’s something I can only dream about at the moment,” said Spieth after becoming the second youngest after Woods to put a Green Jacket in his closet. “He’s an unbelievably nice guy and carries that world No 1 [tag] with class.

“As for our rivalry, I’ll never hit it as far as he does so I’ll have to make up for that somewhere else. But I look forward to getting in the heat of the moment with him a couple of times in the near future and see if we can battle it out and test our games.”

Like McIlroy, Spieth has used an Australian Open victory to spark a remarkable run. It was the only bright light for McIlroy during a troubled 2013 campaign but he came out last season to win two majors, a first WGC and also go back to the top of the global standings.

Spieth went into last year’s event in Sydney on the back of a potentially-damaging blow after letting a lead slip against Graeme McDowell in the top singles match when he had a chance to give the Americans some real momentum on the last day of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

He closed with a 63 to win by four shots in a field that included McIlroy, backed it up with a victory in Woods’ invitational event in Orlando and, in building up a nice head of steam for the Masters, won the Valspar Championship in Tampa then finished second twice.

“I would obviously call this one the greatest win I’ve ever had, but the Australian Open meant a lot,” he admitted. “It came in a period where I’d had some struggles towards the top of the leaderboards on a Sunday.

“It was trial and error a couple of times, but I had not found the solution. I found it there, though, against a world-class field. It was great to then go out and win again the next week and show that I could finish tournaments off under pressure as a professional. I knew the strategy that was required mentally to get the job done and I’ve just taken that into this year.”

Spieth has become a Masters champion less than four years after playing in a Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen, where he was in a star-studded American side that was put to the sword by a Great Britain & Ireland team that included both James Byrne and Michael Stewart.

Andy Sullivan has proved the most successful so far among that particular batch of GB&I players, but his two European Tour titles have now been well and truly eclipsed by golf’s latest major champion. “It’s all happened quickly,” admitted Spieth, who, if he’d stayed at school, would have been playing for the University of Texas at Pasatiempo, another course designed by Alister MacKenzie, in California on Sunday rather than his more famous one in Augusta.

“I would have been a senior with the team right now, but leaving school when I did gave me the chance to get some experience playing in majors in 2013 [he got into the Open Championship at Muirfield at the 11th hour after recording his maiden PGA Tour triumph in the John Deere Classic the week before] and now that has allowed me to win one this year.”