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It may not have been there before, but it’s certainly there now.
Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka traded places on the world rankings this past week.
Call it a mathematical shift with a bunch of numbers. Call it a non-rivalry hyped up by golf fans and the media. Call it what you like.
The point is, there’s a new sheriff in Golf Town, and you don’t need to watch westerns to know that he always comes to the fore with a few shots fired.
In October last year, Koepka delivered a verbal stinger when, as the world number one, he responded to suggestions of a rivalry between him and McIlroy as follows: “I’ve got open road in front of me – I’m not looking in the rear-view mirror, so I don’t see it as a rivalry.”
Then he added: “Rory hasn’t won a major since I’ve been on the PGA Tour.”
A few months later, Koepka’s “open road” suddenly presents him with a view of McIlroy’s bumper.
It’s a road McIlroy has travelled eight times before in his career, and Koepka would do well to read the signs in that kind of experience if a world number one ranking means anything to him, which it does.
As McIlroy reclaims the top spot in world golf, there is no doubt that Koepka is the hottest property at major championship level, having won four majors in three years. But golf is a game steeped in history, and it’s a history that matters.
The last time McIlroy was world number one – in 2015 – Jordan Spieth was the next best thing in the majors.
Spieth won the 2015 masters tournament for his first major, tying with Tiger Woods’ tournament record of 18 under par.
Spieth was undoubtedly the new star at this highest level of the game, winning the 2015 US Open as well.
Spieth cleaned up in every department that year, winning a multitude of PGA Tour awards, including the FedEx Cup, PGA player of the year, PGA tour player of the year, the Vardon Trophy and the Byron Nelson Award.
That same year, McIlroy won his third Race to Dubai title and was the European Tour’s golfer of the year.
In 2015, Spieth and McIlroy battled for the world number one ranking – which they swapped a few times – with Jason Day crashing their party only briefly in the top spot that year.
The year ended with Spieth on top and McIlroy third in the world.
A few years later, and in the same week that McIlroy reclaimed the number one position, Spieth managed to break into the top 50 again after hovering around the bottom of the best for most of last year.
In other words, McIlroy has been here before – several times. But this time, he’s smarter as he says things like: “Staying number one is the hard part.”
He is also living what Woods has said throughout his career when he declares: “Do everything else right, and world number one takes care of itself.”
Today, McIlroy is more focused than ever on getting every little thing exactly right and letting that build his success.
Quite significantly, however, McIlroy didn’t take the opportunity of eclipsing Koepka on the world rankings to return some of the comments the American threw his way.
Instead, he has taken the high road and kept the focus on his own golf. The view from the top is better, after all.
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