Is being the "Next Tiger" a compliment?

It's been a while since I was compelled to watch more than 30 minutes of a PGA event.  Yesterday I was glued to the TV watching the leaders play the final 8 holes of the PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy has suddenly emerged as a fantastically talented, up and coming "next Tiger Woods."  Of course everyone says this regarding the parallels they see in age and level of his displayed talent/success on the golf course.  But is Rory the next Tiger in another way?  The reason there is room for a "next" to ascend to "worlds greatest golfer"is that by most accounts Tiger's days of dominance are over.

Many see a correlation between his demise and the sudden dismantling of his marriage to Elin Nordegren.  What if Tiger had never been married?  Would he be fine today?  Maybe it's not really his bad back that has sidetracked his career, but his unfortunate marriage?  Did Rory figure this out before it was too late?

A popular refrain following McIlroy's impressive victory yesterday is that he's giving credit to his newfound freedom from his fiancé as the cause of his ascendancy.  It's not her fault, and of course he's a winner so it's not his fault.  It must be marriage.  Rory successfully escaped in the nick of time.  Now, according to Rory, all he has to worry about each day is going to the gym and playing golf (and cashing his 1-2 million dollar checks and $10 mil Nike endorsement deals)...a recurring fantasy of millions of men.

The truth is that Rory is right.  To attain super-ultimate, world class, elite ability at golf (or anything) you have to make big sacrifices.  Rory sacrificed a potential life-long companion and lover with whom he could have raised children and experienced the blessings of a family.  Of course many will argue that he can still do that later or that maybe he didn't really love her, arguments to which I don't argue.  But that isn't what he's saying.  Rory is, like many people, speaking of the benefits of non-marriage.  He's saying it's better to be free from the expectations and needs of a wife than to jeopardize your potential.

The Apostle Paul actually backs Rory on his rationale.  1 Corinthians 7:32-35 says,

         I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about 
         the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned 
         about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are 
         divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her 
         aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is 
         concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am 
         saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right
         way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 

Rory's problem is the object of devotion enabled by his freedom.  The practical problem that Paul points out in the context is that most people can't bear to be celibate for the sake of serving God whole-heartedly. So, Paul says go ahead and marry so that you can have an active sex life.

Now, would God endorse celibacy for the sake of unfettered focus toward earning the title of world's number one golfer?  Of course you're laughing at me now because you thought I was talking about marriage.  What does celibacy have to do with being single and what does monogamy have to do with marriage?  Rory's only giving up marriage.   He doesn't need to worry about committing himself to just one person for life.  At least that's what the next Tiger would believe.

So, today Rory can say that yesterday he beat arguably the next best golfer in the tournament field, Phil Mickelson by one stroke pointing to the edge he had as a result of his freedom versus Phil's unfortunate encumbrances.  He can say that in more ways than one he is the next Tiger.

Yesterday Rory's check was for $1.8 mil and Phil's was a mere $1.08 mil.  What a shame that Phil doesn't have Rory's edge and thereby lost out by a stroke.  Is Phil the devoted family man he appears to be?  We can't know for sure but at least his actions and his speech honor his wife, his kids and they honor God's institution of permanent, monogamous marriage.