There is little debate that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are, if not the two most popular golfers in the world, they are at least in the top three.
With my apologies to Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods remains the biggest attraction in golf. But with the young McIlroy earning the number one spot in the world paired with his down to earth persona, Rory is challenging Woods for the title of top “Needle Mover.” 
McIlroy is truly an international player capturing recent titles all over the world. His triple victory run of the PGA Championship, WGC Championship and Open Championship last summer cemented him as the big dawg on the block.
The twenty five year old lives his life in the open whether it is in front of a microphone or on social media. He’s open with the press and shares his life with his fans.
It’s McIlroy’s nature to be happy and share that happiness with others. He’s well known for celebrating his many wins with all night parties and again sharing his joy with others, friends and strangers alike.
Tiger Woods on the other hand…not so much.
John Feinstein ruminates on Woods and McIlroy and just how different they are. In the Nov/Dec issue of The Met Golfer the good Mr. Feinstein gives us Rory? He’s No Tiger. In it he relates a story that personifies the difference between these two golfers.
A couple of years ago, I was walking through a hotel lobby and saw McIlroy standing next to an older man who was showing him pictures on his cell phone. I caught a snippet of the conversation as I walked by.
Rory:”How old is he?”
Man:”Eight months next week.”
Rory:”That’s great. How many grandkids for you now?” 
Man:”My first one.”
Rory:”That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”
The next day I ran into McIlroy in the locker room, and I asked him who the man was who had been showing him the photos in the lobby the previous night. For a split second McIlroy looked at me blankly.
“The guy with the eight-month –old grandson,” I said.
His face brightened. “Oh yea, that guy. I have no idea.”
Now I was puzzled. “You mean you didn’t know him?”
A shrug. :”No. He just walked up and said he was a fan. We started talking then he pulled out his phone and said he wanted to show me these pictures. Seemed like a nice guy.”
So there was McIlroy- already a star- oohing and aahing over the grandson of someone he had known for about 60 seconds.
There is simply no way Woods would be caught dead doing something like that. It’s just not who he is.
Isn’t that the truth.
Woods has no use for the press or the fans, no matter what he says publicly. I would wager that in the short time Rory has been on the scene he has signed ten times more autographs than Woods has in the eighteen years he has been on tour.
The two of them are just cut from a different cloth. Feinstein’s story shows what kind of guy the young McIroy is.
I’ll venture to say that he’ll still be talking to strangers in hotel lobbies for a long time.
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